REESE  LIBRARY 

v 

01-  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Class 


' 


i 


Land  Draining 


A  Handbook  for  Farmers 


ON    THE 


PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE 


FARM  DRAINING 


By  MANLY  MILES,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  M.  S. 

Author  of  "  Stock  Breeding;  "  "  Silos,  Ensilage  and  Silage,"  etc.,  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

NEW    YORK 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 
1903 


4 


BEcSE 

COPYRIGHT,  1892, 
ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY. 


A  book  on  farm  draining  is  evidently  needed  at  the 
present  time,  to  bring  within  reach  of  practical  farm- 
ers the  established  facts  of  science  relating  to  the  princi- 
ples and  advantages  of  thorough  drainage,  and  the  best 
and  most  economical  method  of  making  farm  drains. 

Under  the  present  conditions  of  American  farm 
practice,  one  of  the  most  prominent  defects  in  the  pre- 
vailing system  of  management  ''appears  to  be  a  lack  of 
attention  to  thorough  drainage  as  a  means  of  diminish- 
ing the  cost  of  production,  and  insuring  uniformly  remu- 
nerative returns  in  crop  growing,  by  increasing  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil,  and  avoiding  the  losses  from  unfavor- 
able seasons.  The  manifest  neglect  of  this  important 
branch  of  rural  economy  by  the  majority  of  farmers  is 
undoubtedly  owing,  to  a  great  extent,  at  least,  to  the 
frequent  failures  observed  in  draining,  from  the  practice 
of  imperfect  methods,  and  vague,  or  incorrect  notions, 
in  regard  to  the  real  a'dvan^tages  to  be  derived  from 
draining. 

This  is  not  surprising,  as  attention  has  been  turned 
in  other  directions,  and  the  most  valuable  contributions 
to  the  principles  of  drainage,  of  late  years,  have  been 
confined,  in  the  main,  to  periodicals  and  reports  not 
generally  accessible  to  farmers,  and  there  is  no  book  on 
this  special  subject  in  which  may  be  found  a  description 
of  the  best  method  of  making  tile  drains,  or  an  adequate 
discussion  of  the  latest  developments  of  science  in  their 
relations  to  the  principles  of  drainage.  Many  of  the 

tssorvj 


IV  PREFACE. 

maxims  in  draining,  of  but  a  few  years  ago,  have  become 
obsolete,  and  more  consistent  methods  have  been  adopted 
in  the  best  modern  practice,  while  the  progress  of  sci- 
ence has  extended  our  knowledge  of  correct  principles, 
and  made  clear  many  details  in  regard  to  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  for  growing  crops,  which  are  of  great 
practical  importance. 

In  this  Handbook  for  Farmers,  the  aim  has  been 
to  present  the  leading  facts  of  practical  significance,  in 
connection  with  a  popular  discussion  of  the  applications 
of  science,  and  the  results  of  experiments  relating  to 
draining  have  been  summarized  in  tables  in  convenient 
form  for  reference,  which  furnish  ready  answers  to 
many  of  the  economic  questions  that  will  be  suggested 
to  the  intelligent  farmer. 

An  outline  of  the  history  of  draining  is  given  to 
illustrate  the  progress  of  discovery  and  invention  in 
developing  correct  principles  of  practice,  and  the  direc- 
tions for  laying  tiles,  which  are  the  results  of  an 
extended  experience  in  draining  under  widely  different 
conditions,  are  confidently  recommended  as  a  decided 
improvement  on  former  methods. 

Lansing,  Mica,  1892. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.                                             Page 
GENERAL  PRINCIPLES 1 

CHAPTER  n. 
WATER  IN  SOILS  AND  CONSERVATION  OF  ENERGY 24 

CHAPTER  III. 
RAINFALL,  DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORATION 35 

CHAPTER  IV. 
ENERGY  IN  EVAPORATION 58 

CHAPTER  V. 
ADVANTAGES  OF  DRAINING  RETENTIVE  SOILS 70 

CHAPTER  VI. 
PROGRESS  OF  DISCOVERY  AND  INVENTION 96 

CHAPTER  VII. 

LOCATION  AND  PLANS  OF  DRAINS 130 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
QUALITY  AND  SIZE  OF  TILES 139 

CHAPTER    IX. 

How  TO  MAKE  TILE  DRAINS 157 

CHAPTER  X. 
DRAINS  IN  QUICKSAND,  AND  PEAT 177 

CHAPTER  XI. 
OUTLETS  AND  OBSTRUCTIONS . .  184 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

The  rapid  growth  of  science,  and  the  development 
of  the  mechanic  arts  which  have  made  possible  the 
unprecedented  activity  in  the  industries  during  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century,  have  brought  about  economic 
changes  in  methods  of  production,  which  must  be  taken 
into  consideration  in  attempts  to  improve  the  practice 
and  increase  the  profits  of  agriculture. 

From  the  intense  competition  in  farm  products  of 
all  kinds,  arising  from  the  extraordinary  development  of 
facilities  for  cheap  transportation,  the  farmers  of  the 
United  States  are  directly  interested  in  every  means  of 
diminishing  the  cost  of  production,  to  enable  them  to 
hold  a  commanding  position  in  the  world's  markets,  and 
obtain  remunerative  returns  for  their  labor,  without 
impairing  the  value  of  their  invested  capital.  The  busi- 
ness methods  that  have  been  found  necessary  to  insure 
success  in  other  pursuits  must  be  adopted,  and  atten- 
tion must  be  given  to  every  available  means  of  increasing 
the  productiveness  of  the  soil  and  making  the  labor 
expended  on  it  more  effective,  while  the  losses  resulting 
from  bad  seasons  must  be  reduced  to  a  minimum  by  the 
intelligent  direction  and  control  of  the  forces  of  nature. 

One  of  the  first  steps  in  the  direction  of  improved 
methods  of  farm  practice  is  to  put  the  soil  in  a  condition 
to  yield  the  best  net  returns  from  the  elements  of  plant 
food  which  it  naturally  contains,  or  that  may  be  applied 
to  it  in  the  home,  supplies  of  manure.  The  questions  that 
may  arise  in  regard  to  artificial,  or  purchased  fortuity, 

1 


2  LAND   DRAINING. 

are  of  secondary  importance  to  the  majority  of  American 
farmers,  and  the  leading  problem  for  them  to  solve  is  to 
obtain  the  best  returns  from  the  elements  of  production 
j^ready  within  their  control. 

Among  the  available  agencies  for  bringing  about 
tins  desirable  conservation  and  utilization  of  the  elements 
of  profitable  crop-growing  on  a  large  proportion  of  the 
farms  of  this  country,  thorough  drainage  is  the  most 
important,  as  upon  it  will  depend  the  successful  applica- 
tion of  other  means  of  increasing  productiveness,  includ- 
ing thorough  tillage  and  manures,  which  are  relied  upon 
to  increase  the  net  income  that  may  be  derived  from  the 
aggregate  of  farm  operations. 

In  order  to  lay  a  foundation  for  the  intelligent  dis- 
cussion of  the  advantages  of  thorough  drainage  it  will 
be  necessary  to  briefly  review  some  of  the  conditions  that 
are  essential  to  the  health  and  well-being  of  the  crops 
grown  on  the  farm.  The  results  of  scientific  investiga- 
tions are  suggestive,  and  the  knowledge  that  has  been 
gained  of  the  laws  and  processes  of  vegetable  nutrition 
and  growth  must  be  recognized  as  of  great  practical 
value  in  farm  economy,  when  their  relations  to  details 
o'f  practice  are  clearly  understood. 

The  uniform  certainty  of  results  obtained  in  all 
operations  in  other  industries  can  only  be  realized  in 
agriculture  when  the  practice  of  the  art  is  based  on  con- 
sistent principles,  in  harmony  with  those  natural  laws 
which  it  is  the  mission  of  science  to  discover  and  inves- 
tigate. In  dealing  with  the  different  forms  of  life  with 
which  the  farmer  is  chiefly  concerned,  the  best  results  can 
only  be  obtained  by  a  strict  conformity  to  physiological 
laws,  the  practical  significance  of  which  may  readily  be 
learned  and  appreciated,  without  any  profound  knowl- 
edge of  the  science  of  physiology. 

Clear  and  consistent  notions  of  the  philosophy  of 
farm  drainage  can  only  be  secured  by  an  examination 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  3 

of  the  known  facts  relating  to  the  nutritive  activities  of 
plants  and  their  relations  to  the  soil  and  its  contained 
moisture,  to  ascertain  what  special  conditions  are  likely 
to  interfere  with  their  normal  processes  of  growth.  The 
intelligent  farmer  will  not  be  satisfied  with  the  simple 
statement  that  the  draining  of  retentive  soils  makes 
them  more  productive  but  he  will  inquire  how  this 
result  is  brought  about,  and  the  knowledge  he  may 
acquire  in  tracing  to  their  source  the  conditions  that 
favor  the  vigorous  growth  of  his  crops,  will  be  of  value 
to  him  in  suggesting  many  details  of  practice  that  may 
be  profitably  adopted  in  his  general  system  of  farm 
management. 

We  cannot,  of  course,  in  this  connection,  attempt  a 
full  discussion  of  the  physiology  of  plants,  and  attention 
will  only  be  directed  to  some  of  the  leading  facts  in  this 
department  of  science,  that  have  a  direct  relation  to  the 
principles  of  farm  drainage. 

Physiologists  tell  us  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  dry  substance  of  plants  is  derived  from  the  atmos- 
phere, but  it  is  well  understood  that  the  atmospheric 
supplies  of  plant  food  are  only  made  available  when 
their  roots  are  enabled  to  take  from  the  soil,  under 
favorable  conditions,  the  comparatively  limited  amount 
of  nutritive  materials  it  is  their  function  to  furnish. 

From  a  practical  standpoint  it  is,  therefore,  a  mat- 
ter of  the  first  importance  to  provide  suitable  soil  condi- 
tions to  promote  the  functional  activities  of  the  roots  of 
plants,  as  they  have  direct  relations  with  the  part  per- 
formed by  the  leaves  in  appropriating  from  the  atmos- 
phere materials  that  constitute  the  great  bulk  of  the  dry 
substance  of  the  plant. 

Dr.  Gilbert  makes  the  statement  that  in  the  Roth- 
amsted  experiments,  "by  the  application  of  nitrogen  to 
the  soil,  for  mangels,  there  was,  in  many  cases,  an 
increased  assimilation  of  about  one  ton  of  carbon  per 


4  LAND   DRAINING. 

acre,  from  the  atmosphere,"  and  that  one  pound  of 
nitrogen  as  manure  for  mangels  gave  an  increase  of  over 
twenty-two  pounds  of  sugar,  derived  almost  exclusively 
from  the  atmosphere.  With  wheat  and  barley  for 
twenty  years  there  was  an  increase  of  from  fourteen  to 
twenty-two  pounds  of  carbon  in  the  crop  for  each  one 
pound  of  nitrogen  in  the  manure.  The  results  here 
presented  are  in  strict  accordance  with  other  known  facts 
in  vegetable  physiology,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
notice,  and  we  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  soil  con- 
ditions have  a  direct  influence  on  all  of  the  nutritive 
processes  of  plants,  and  that  their  chemical  composition 
furnishes  no  index  of  their  requirements  in  regard  to  the 
food  constituents  that  may  be  profitably  applied  in  the 
form  of  manures. 

In  the  growing  of  crops,  as  well  as  in  the  care  of  his 
animals,  the  farmer  is  dealing  with  living  organisms, 
and  it  is  not  sufficient  to  furnish  the  food  elements 
required  in  building  tissues,  but  he  must  also  provide 
conditions  that  are  in  every  way  favorable  for  the  exer- 
cise of  their  vital  activities,  on  which  the  appropriation 
and  assimilation  of  their  food  directly  depends. 

CONDITIONS  OF  PLANT  GROWTH. 

In  common  with  other  living  organisms,  our  farm 
crops  require  certain  conditions  of  environment  for  their 
active  growth  and  perfect  development,  and  amon<r 
those  which  the  farmer  can,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
control,  may  be  enumerated  as  essential — a  favorable 
temperature,  a  proper  supply  of  moisture,  and  a  supply 
of  appropriate  food.  In  the  absence  of,  or  any  marked 
deficiency  in,  either  of  these  conditions,  the  plants  can- 
not thrive.  These  conditions  must  be  studied  in  detail, 
as  they  have  a  direct  relation  to  the  subject  of  farm 
drainage. 

Temperature.     Plants  do  not   irnvin  the 
and  seeds  do  not  germinate  until  the  soil  is 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  5 

warmed  by  the  sun  and  the  heat  liberated  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  soil  metabolism.  Each  crop  is  adapted,  by  its 
inherited  habits,  to  a  certain  range  of  temperature  pecu- 
liar to  itself.  There  is  a  minimum  temperature  at 
which  all  growth  ceases,  a  maximum  beyond  which  the 
plant  cannot  live,  and  between  these  extremes  there  is 
an  optimum  temperature  that  is  most  favorable  for 
rapid  growth.  Any  agency,  or  condition  of  the  soil  that 
tends  to  lower  the  temperature  from  the  optimum  point 
must,  therefore,  retard  the  processes  of  growth  and  devel- 
opment, no  matter  how  favorable  other  conditions 
may  be. 

The  range  of  temperature  within  which  plants  can 
grow  lies  between  the  freezing  point  and  about  122°  P. 
The  optimum  temperature  in  any  particular  case  can 
only  be  stated  approximately,  as  the  results  may  be 
modified  by  other  conditions.  According  to  the  experi- 
ments of  Sachs,  Koppen  and  Alphonse  de  Candolle, 
wheat  and  barley  do  not  sprout  if  the  temperature  is 
below  41°,  and  the  most  rapid  growth  was  made  at  about 
84°  P.  Maize  required  a  temperature  of  at  least  48°  for 
germination,  and  the  most  rapid  growth  of  the  roots 
was  made  when  the  temperature  was  about  90°  to  93°.* 

Carbon,  which  constitutes  about  one-half  of  the  dry 
substance  of  plants,  is  appropriated  by  chlorophyll  (the 
green  coloring  substance  of  plants),  in  the  presence  of 
light,  from  the  small  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  present 
in  the  atmosphere.  The  larger  part  of  the  carbon 
assimilated  by  plants  from  carbonic  acid  is  obtained 
by  the  leaves,  but  the  air  permeating  cultivated  soils 
contains  a  larger  percentage  of  carbonic  acid  than  the 
normal  atmosphere,  and  this  is  absorbed  by  soil  water, 
and  may  therefore  gain  access  to  the  plant  through  the 
roots.  The  presence  of  chlorophyll,  however,  appears  to 
be  necessary  for  the  assimilation  of  the  carbon  from  the 

*  Sachs'  Text  Book  of  Botany,  p-  750. 


6  LAND    DRAINING. 

carbonic  acid  introduced  through  the  roots,  as  well  as  by 
the  leaves.  The  lowest  temperature  at  which  chlorophyll 
was  formed  in  maize  was  observed,  by  Sachs,  to  be 
between  43°  and  59°.*  When  the  temperature  is  too  low 
for  the  active  formation  of  chlorophyll,  as  in  cold,  back- 
ward spring  months,  the  pale  appearance  of  the  plants 
indicates  a  defective  power  of  appropriating  carbon  from 
the  atmosphere.  The  summer  temperature  in  England 
is  barely  sufficient  to  mature  wheat  and  barley,  and 
Indian  corn,  which  requires  a  higher  temperature,  can- 
not be  grown  as  a  farm  crop. 

Moisture.  When  growing,  or  in  the  green  state, 
from  about  68  to  88  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  farm 
crops  is  water,  and  the  remaining  12  to  32  per  cent,  is 
referred  to  as  dry  substance.  The  water  contained  in 
the  crop,  however,  represents  but  a  small  part  of  that 
which  is  made  use  of  in  its  processes  of  growth.  The 
roots  of  a  healthy  and  rapidly  growing  plant  are  con- 
stantly absorbing  water  from  the  soil,  which  is  finally 
exhaled  by  the  leaves,  and  disappears,  in  the  form  of 
vapor,  in  the  atmosphere.  A  circulation  of  water 
through  the  tissues  of  the  plant  is  thus  maintained  for 
the  introduction  and  distribution  of  the  inorganic  nutri- 
tive materials  derived  from  the  soil.  From  this  it  will 
be, seen  that  the  amount  of  water  required  by  farm  crops 
is  in  fact  very  much  larger  than  would  be  suspected  by 
those  who  are  not  familiar  with  these  well  known  pro- 
cesses in  the  nutrition  of  plants. 

In  a  careful  series  of  experiments  made  at  Rotham- 
sted,  it  was  found  that  from  250  to  300  pounds  of  water 
was  exhaled  by  field  crops,  for  each  pound  of  dry  sub- 
stance formed  and  stored  up  by  the  plants.  "  Hellriegel 
(at  Dahme,  Prussia)  found  that  summer  wheat  and  rye, 
oats,  beans,  peas,  buckwheat,  red  clover,  yellow  lupines 
and  summer  colza,  on  the  average,  exhaled  three  hundred 

*  Sachs'  1.  c.,  p.  651. 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  7 

grams  of  water  for  one  gram  of  dry  matter  produced, 
above  ground,  during  the  entire  season  of  growth,  when 
stationed  in  a  sandy  soil."*  It  is  probable  that  field 
crops,  from  their  more  vigorous  growth  and  active  pow- 
ers of  assimilation,  may  exhale  a  larger  amount  of  water 
than  plants  under  the  artificial  conditions, required  in 
exact  experiments.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  estimate  the 
average  amount  of  dry  substance  produced  on  some  of 
their  experimental  wheat  plots  at  5,600  pounds  per  acre, 
and  this  would  involve  the  exhalation  of  over  800  tons 
of  water.  Estimated  on  the  same  basis,  a  crop  of  wheat 
of  25  bushels  per  acre  would  exhale,  in  its  processes  of 
growth,  more  than  500  tons  of  water,  and  a  crop  of  one 
acre  of  Indian  corn,  of  60  bushels,  would  exhale  about 
960  tons  of  water,  equivalent  to  more  than  8.5  inches 
of  rainfall. 

The  absolute  amount  of  water  in  the  soil  that  is 
most  favorable  for  the  growth  of  plants  can  only  be 
approximately  stated,  as  it  will  probably  vary  with  the 
character  of  the  soil,  the  kind  of  crop  grown,  and 
atmospheric  conditions  influencing  evaporation. 

"Hellriegel  experimented  with  wheat,  rye,  and  oats, 
in  a  pure  sand  mixed  with  a  sufficiency  of  plant  food. 
The  sand,  when  saturated  with  water,  contained  25% 
of  the  liquid."  The  results  are  given  in  the  following 
table,  the  weights  being  in  grams. 

TABLE  1. 
WATER  IN  SOIL  AND  YIELD  OF  CROPS. 


WATER  IN  SOIL. 

Y'LD  OF  WHEAT. 

YIELD  OF    RYE. 

YIELD  OF   OATS. 

In  per- 
cent, 
of  soil. 

5*10 
10-15 
15-20 

Inp.c.of 
retent'e 
power. 

Straw 
and 

chaff. 

Grain. 

Straw 
and 
chaff. 

Grain. 

Straw 
and 
chaff. 

Grain. 

10-20 
20-40 
40-60 
60-80 

7.0 
15.1 
21.4 
23.3 

2.8 
8.4 
10.3 
11.4 

8.3 
11.8 
15.1 
16.4 

3.9 
8.1 
10.3 
10.3 

4.2 
'    11.8 
13.9 
15.8 

1.8 
»7.8 
10.9 
11.8 

"  In  each  case  the  proportion  of  water  in  the  soil 
was  preserved  within  the  limits  given  in  the  first  column 


'How  Crops  Grow,  1890  ed.,  jr.  311. 


8  LAND    DRAINING. 

of  the  table,  throughout  the  entire  period  of  growth.  It 
is  seen  that  in  this  sandy  soil  10-15  per  cent,  of  water 
enahled  the  rye  to  yield  a  maximum  crop  of  grain,  and 
brought  wheat  and  oats  very  closely  to  a  maximum  crop. 
Hellriegel  noticed  that  the  plants  exhibited  no  visible 
deficiency  of  water,  except  through  stunted  growth,  in 
any  of  these  experiments.  Wilting  never  took  place 
except  when  the  supply  of  water  was  less  than  2% 
per  cent."* 

As  farm  crops  will  not  grow  well  in  a  wet  soil,  it 
must  be  evident  that  the  soil  must  be  well  pulverized 
and  porous,  and  readily  permeable  to  moisture,  so  that 
healthy  roots  may  be  distributed  throughout  its  entire 
mass,  to  enable  them  to  gather  the  large  amount  of 
water  they  require  from  the  moist  particles  that  repre- 
sent the  normal  conditions  of  a  productive  soil.  The 
capillarity  of  soils  or  permeability  to  moisture,  so  that  a 
moderate  but  continuous  supply  is  furnished  to  the 
growing  crop,  must  then  be  recognized  as  an  essential 
condition  of  fertility. 

Food  Supply.  The  roots  of  farm  crops  obtain 
from  the  soil  certain  materials  that  are  needed  in  their 
constructive  processes,  among  which  are :  nitrogen, 
chiefly  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid,  or,  to  a  limited  extent, 
perhaps  as  ammonia — free  oxygen  from  the  air  perme- 
ating the  soil — and  the  mineral  constituents  that  appear 
as  ash  when  the  plant  is  burned. 

The  larger  roots  serve  simply  as  supports  to  the 
plant,  or,  in  some  cases,  as  stores  of  nutritive  materials ; 
while  the  absorption  of  plant  food  is  exclusively  carried 
on  by  the  slender,  thin- walled  fibrils,  or  fine  branches, 
forming  the  ultimate  subdivisions  of  the  larger  roots. 
In  most  cases  the  absorbing  surface  is  materially 
increased  by  numerous  still  more  delicate  cells,  called 
root-hairs,  which  are  thickly  distributed  near  the  en"1,  of 

*  Jiow  crops  Feed,  pp.  215-21$. 


GENEKAL    PltlNCiPLEo. 

the  fibrils.  As  the  root  fibrils  increase  in  length,  feel- 
ing their  way,  as  it  were,  between  the  particles  of  soil, 
the  older  root-hairs  disappear  and  new  ones  are  formed 
a  short  distance  behind  the  slender  growing  tip  of  the 
fibrils,  and,  in  a  vigorous,  healthy  plant,  these  delicate 
absorbing  organs  are  found  to  penetrate  every  available 
space  between  the  particles  of  soil. 

The  extent  of  these  absorbing  fibrils  and  root-hairs 
would  not  be  observed  in  a  careless  examination,  as  most 
of  them,  under  average  conditions,  are  left  in  the  soil 
when  the  plants  are  pulled  up,  the  larger  roots,  only, 
remaining  attached  to  the  stalk.  Hellriegel  estimated 
the  aggregate  length  of  the  roots  of  a  single  barley  plant 
at  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet,  and  of  an  oat 
plant  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  he  found  that 
but  a  small  fraction  of  a  cubic  foot  of  soil  sufficed  for 
this  extended  root  development.*  Under  suitable  con- 
ditions, the  roots  of  a  growing  plant  may  be  observed 
under  the  microscope,  and  the  slender  fibrils  and  root- 
hairs  can  then  be  seen  closely  in  contact  with  each  parti- 
cle of  the  soil.  These  facts  furnish  a  ready  and  simple 
explanation  of  the  injurious  effects  of  drainage  water 
when  retained  in  soils.  These  delicate  absorbing  organs 
of  the  roots  of  plants  are  not  fitted  for  an  aquatic  life, 
and  they  readily  succumb  under  the  encroachments  of 
standing  or  drainage  water  in  soils.  Their  function  is 
to  absorb  free  oxygen,  as  well  as  the  mineral  constitu- 
ents of  plant  food,  and  air  must  be  allowed  to  circulate 
between  the  soil  particles,  to  furnish  the  needed  supply. 
When  the  space  between  the  particles  of  soils  is  filled 
with  drainage  water  the  air  is  excluded,  the  supply  of 
free  oxygen  cut  off,  and  the  active  agents  of  absorption 
cannot  live  under  these  abnormal  conditions. 

We  must,  then,  include  among  the  essential  condi- 
tions of  vigorous  growth  in  plants,  a  finely  pulverized 

*How  Crops  Grow,  1890  ed.,  p.  265, 


10  LAND   DRAINING. 

soil  free  from  drainage  water,  that  will  permit  and 
encourage  the  free  ramification  of  these  delicate  organs 
of  absorption,  in  free  contact  with  air,  and  the  moist 
surface  of  the  soil  particles. 

Soil  Metabolism.  Soils  are  not  an  inert  mass  of 
matter  from  which  plants  passively  obtain  their  food 
supplies.  All  soils  that  are,  or  may  be  made,  fertile,  are 
constantly  undergoing  change,  and  the  transformations 
taking  place  in  the  arrangement,  or  relations  of  their 
constituents,  may  be  favorable,  or  otherwise,  to  the  well 
being  of  the  crops  growing  in  them,  according  to  the 
conditions  present  for  the  time  being.  The  aggregate 
of  chemical,  physical  and  biological  changes,  or  trans- 
formations that  take  place  in  soils,  are  conveniently 
expressed  by  the  general  term  metabolism,  without 
attempting  to  distinguish  between  them,  which,  in  the 
present  state  of  knowledge,  would,  in  most  cases,  be 
impossible. 

For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  purely  chemical 
and  physical  changes  taking  place  in  soils,  than,  for  lack 
of  space,  is  here  given,  the  reader  is  referred  to  readily 
accessible  works,  in  which  they  are  more  or  less  fully 
discussed.* 

Biological  Factors.  Recent  investigations,  how- 
ever, tend  to  show  that  biological  activities  are  impor- 
tant, and,  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  dominant  factors  in 
soil  metabolism,  and  in  their  relations  to  our  present 
subject  of  farm  drainage  they  require  notice  in  greater 
detail. 

All  processes  of  fermentation  and  putrefaction  are 
now  known  to  be  caused  by  living  organisms,  each  of 


*  Master's  Plant  Life  on  the  Farm,  and  Warington's  Chemistry  of  the 
Farm,  are  admirable  popular  elementary  works  that  may  be  profitably 
consulted  by  the  general  reader.  For  the  advanced  student  Johnson's 
How  Crops  Feed,  and  How  Crops  Grow,  new  ed.,  1890,  and  Storer's  Agri- 
culture, 2  vols.,  will  be  more  satisfactory,  from  the  more  detailed  illus- 
tration of  the  principles  under  discussion. 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  11 

which  performs  a  specific  role  in  tearing  down  and  disin- 
tegrating organic  substances  in  their  processes  of  nutri- 
tion. Yeast,  a  minute  plant,  of  which  there  are  several 
species,  is  the  type  of  the  true  alcoholic  ferments.  The 
lactic,  butyric,  acetic,  and  other  ferments,  belong  to  the 
group  of  minute  organisms  popularly  known  as  bacteria, 
or  microbes.  To  the  same  group  belong  the  various  fer- 
ments concerned  in  the  complex  processes  of  putrefaction. 

The  rotting  of  manures  and  the  disintegration  of 
organic  matters  in  the  soil  are  brought  about  by  a  series 
of  micro-organisms  that  succeed  each  other  with  the 
change  of  conditions  presented  in  the  course  of  the 
putrefactive  process.  One  species,  beginning  the  work 
of  putrefaction,  after  taking  the  supplies  of  food  fitted 
for  its  nourishment,  leaves  a  residual  mass  that  is  better 
suited  to  the  requirements  of  some  other  species  which 
succeeds  it,  and  this,  in  turn,  for  the  same  reasons,  is 
succeeded  by  another  form  better  fitted  for  the  new  con- 
ditions, and  these  changes  in  the  active  agents  of  decay 
are  repeated,  wholly,  or  in  part,  until  the  entire  mass  is 
reduced  to  its  elements,  or  simple  binary  compounds. 
Each  species  requires,  for  the  exercise  of  its  vital  activi- 
ties, certain  conditions  of  environment,  and  as  these  are 
constantly  changing  as  the  putrefactive  process  proceeds, 
the  microbes  that,  for  the  time  being  are  best  adapted 
to  the  prevailing  conditions,  become  the  dominant  spe- 
cies. This  is,  in  fact,  but  a  phase  of  the  "  struggle  for 
existence,"  and  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  that  is  now 
recognized  as  an  important  factor  in  the  evolution  of 
organic  beings. 

Agricultural  plants  cannot  make  use  of  organic  sub- 
stances as  food,  but  in  the  processes  of  disintegration, 
to  which  they  are  subjected  in  the  soil,  plant  food  is 
liberated  in  an  available  form  ;  but  in  case  no  growing 
plant  is  present  to  appropriate  it,  the  next  scries  of 
(Vhanges,  brought  about  by  the  accession  of  other  species 


12  LAND   DRAINING. 

of  microbes,  may  transform  what  is  valuable  plant  food 
to  a  condition  unfitted  for  the  nutrition  of  plants.  Soil 
exhaustion  cannot,  therefore,  be  measured  by  the  amount 
of  the  chemical  elements  of  fertility  removed  in  crops. 
In  the  absence  of  growing  plants  a  loss  of  fertility  m.iy 
not  only  take  place  through  the  agency  of  microbes,  bur 
it  may  be  washed  out  of  the  soil  by  rains,  or  locked  up 
in  more  stable  compounds  with  other  soil  constituents. 
Summer  fallows  were  supposed  to  increase  the  available 
elements  of  fertility  in  the  soil,  but  the  soluble  materials 
formed  in  the  metabolism  of  fallow  soils  are  liable  to  be 
washed  out  by  rains,  in  the  absence  of  growing  plants 
to  make  use  of  them. 

Schloesing  and  Muntz  made  the  notable  discovery, 
in  1877,  that  nitrification  is  caused  by  microbes,  and 
this  led  to  further  investigations,  by  numerous  observ- 
ers, in  regard  to  the  agency  of  these  organisms  in  pre- 
paring plant  food,  which  have  proved  to  be  of  great 
practical  interest.  Nitric  acid,  in  combination  with 
bases,  forming  nitrates,  seems  to  be  the  favorite  form  of 
nitrogenous  food  for  farm  crops,  and  this  is  provided  by 
nitrifying  microbes,  under  suitable  conditions  for  the 
exercise  of  their  processes  of  nutrition,  from  the  nitro- 
gen of  the  organic  substances,  and  ammonia  of  the  soil 
and  manures,  and  from  the  atmospheric  nitrogen  per- 
meating the  soil. 

Nitrification  is  carried  on  very  slowly  at  tempera- 
tures but  little  above  the  freezing  point,  and  then  rap- 
idly increases  as  the  temperature  is  raised  to  an  optimum 
of  90°  to  99°,  when  the  organisms  are  most  active.  At 
higher  temperatures  nitrification  diminishes,  and  ceases 
entirely  at  125°  to  131°.  At  Eothamsted  thirty-seven 
days  were  required  for  the  nitrification  of  the  substances 
under  experiment  at  52°,  while  it  was  completed  in  eight 
days  at  a  temperature  of  86°.  Schloesing  and  Hunt/ 
state  "that  at  99°  nitrification  is  ten  times  more  rapid 
than  at  57°." 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  13 

We  have  already  noticed  the  relations  of  tempera- 
ture to  the  vigorous  growth  of  the  plants  themselves, 
and  it  now  appears  that  the  supplies  of  plant  food  are 
likewise  influenced  by  the  temperature  of  the  soil, 
through  its  effects  on  the  living  organisms  that  prepare 
it.  The  atmosphere  is  composed  of  a  mixture  of  gases 
consisting,  by  volume,  of  20.96  per  cent,  of  oxygen, 
79.00  per  cent,  of  nitrogen  and  0.04  per  cent,  of  carbon 
dioxide  (carbonic  acid),  to  which  should  be  added  a 
variable  amount  of  the  vapor  of  water  and  minute  quan- 
tities of  combined  nitrogen,  in  the  form  of  nitric  acid, 
ammonia,  and  organic  matters,  which  are  washed  out  by 
rains  and  thus  carried  to  the  soil.  The  nitrogen  annu- 
ally added  to  the  soil  from  this  source,  at  Rothamsted, 
is  estimated  not  to  exceed  four  or  five  pounds  per  acre. 

When  the  discovery  was  made  of  the  composition  of 
the  atmosphere  it  was  at  once  supposed  that  the  vast 
envelop  of  free  atmospheric  nitrogen  was  the  main,  or 
sole,  source  of  the  nitrogen  of  plants.  Experiments  by 
Boussinganlt,  in  France,  and  by  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  at 
Rothamsted,  in  England,  however,  showed  that  free 
atmospheric  nitrogen  was  not  appropriated  by  plants, 
and  that  their  supplies  of  nitrogen  were  obtained  from 
the  soil.  Notwithstanding  this  conclusive  evidence  to 
the  contrary,  it  is  a  popular  notion,  indorsed  even  by 
some  chemists,  that  leguminous  crops  (clover,  beans, 
peas,  etc.)  obtain  their  nitrogen  directly  from  the  atmos- 
phere. The  practical  inferences  from  this  erroneous 
theory  are  misleading,  as  they  ignore  the  importance  of 
soil  conditions  on  the  supplies  of  nitrogenous  plant  food. 

It  was  likewise  shown  in  the  Rothamsted  experi- 
ments that,  while  leguminous  plants  removed  from  the 
soil  much  larger  amounts  of  nitrogen  than  the  cereals, 
they  were  not  benefited  by  nitrogenous  manures,  which 
had  a  marked  influence  in  increasing  the  growth  of  the 
cereals.  It  was  also  found  that  on  land  where  cereal 


14  LAND   DRAINING. 

crops  failed  to  grow  from  a  deficiency  of  soil  nitrogen, 
large  leguminous  crops  were  grown  containing  much 
more  nitrogen  than  a  heavy  crop  of  cereals.  It  was,  in 
fact,  evident  that  leguminous  crops  obtained  nitrogen  in 
some  way,  or  from  some  source,  that  was  not  available 
for  the  cereals. 

An  explanation  of  these  anomalous  results  has  been 
furnished  by  recent  experiments,  and  it  is  now  known 
that  the  tubercles,  or  nodules,  that  have  been  frequently 
observed  on  the  roots  of  leguminous  and  some  other 
plants,  are  caused  by  microbes,  and  that,  through  their 
agency,  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere  permeating 
the  soil  is  appropriated  and  made  available,  as  combined 
nitrogen,  in  the  nutrition  of  the  plants  with  which  they 
are  associated. 

Some  of  the  experiments  leading  to  these  conclu- 
sions will  be  of  interest  here,  as  they  have  a  direct  bear- 
ing on  the  subject  of  farm  drainage  in  its  relations  to 
soil  metabolism.  Hellriegel,  in  experiments  with  agri- 
cultural plants,  in  pots  filled  with  washed  quartz  sand, 
to  which  nutritive  solutions  containing  no  nitrogen  were 
added,  found  that  in  some  of  the  pots  the  plants  grew 
luxuriantly,  while  in  others  the  growth  seemed  to  be 
limited  and  determined  by  the  amount  of  nitrogen  con- 
tained in  the  seed.  He  observed  numerous  nodules  on 
the  roots  of  the  plants  that  made  a  good  growth,  while 
there  were  none  on  the  roots  of  the  plants  of  limited 
growth.  A  probable  relation  of  the  root-nodules  to  the 
supply  of  nitrogen  obtained  by  the  plants  was  suggested 
and  made  the  subject  of  investigation. 

Experiments  were  planned  "to  determine  whether,  by 
the  supply  of  the  organisms,  the  formation  of  the  root- 
nodules  and  luxuriant  growth  could  be  induced,  and 
whether,  by  their  exclusion,  the  result  could  be  pre- 
vented. To  this  end  he  added  to  some  of  a  series  of 
experimental  pots  25  c.c.  (0.88  ounces),  or,  sometimes, 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  15 

50  c.c.  (1.76  ounces)  of  a  turbid  extract  of  a  fertile  soil, 
made  by  shaking  a  given  quantity  of  it  with  five  times 
its  weight  of  distilled  water.  In  some  cases,  however, 
the  extract  was  sterilized  (by  the  application  of  heat,  to 
destroy  all  living  organisms).  In  those  in  which  it  was 
not  sterilized  there  was  almost  uniformly  luxuriant 
growth  and  abundant  formation  of  root-nodules ;  but 
with  sterilization  there  were  no  such  results.  Consistent 
results  were  obtained  with  peas,  vetches  and  some  other 
Papilionaceae ;  but  the  application  of  the  same  soil- 
extract  had  no  eifect  in  the  case  of  lupines,  seradella  and 
some  other  plants  of  the  family  which  are  known  to 
grow  more  favorably  on  sandy,  than  on  loamy,  or  rich 
humus  soils.  Accordingly  he  made  a  similar  extract 
from  a  diluvial  sandy  soil  where  lupines  were  growing 
well,  in  which  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  organisms 
peculiar  in  such  a  soil  would  be  present;  and  on  the 
application  of  this  to  nitrogen-free  soil,  lupines  grew  in 
it  luxuriantly  and  nodules  were  abundantly  developed 
on  their  roots." 

At  "Rothamsted*  experiments  were  made  on  the 
same  lines,  in  1888,  with  peas,  blue  lupines  and  j^ellow 
lupines ;  and  in  1889,  with  changes  suggested  by  the 
experiments  of  the  preceding  year,  they  were  repeated 
with  "peas,  red  clover,  vetches,  blue  lupines,  yellow 
lupines  and  lucern,"  under  the  following  conditions : 
For  the  lupines  and  lucern  special  glazed  earthenware 
pots  were  made,  fifteen  inches  deep  and  six  inches  in 
diameter,  and  for  the  other  plants  the  pots  were  seven 
inches  deep  and  about  six  inches  in  diameter.  "There 
were  four  pots  of  each  description  of  plant."  Three 
of  these  were  filled  with  clean-washed  quartz  sand,  to 
which  was  added  0.1  per  cent,  of  the  ash  of  the  plant  to 


*A  more  detailed  account  of  these  experiments,  particularly  in 
their  relations  to  crop  rotations,  will  be  found  in  Popular  Science 
Monthly  for  Feb.  1891,  p.  691. 


16  LAND  DRAINING. 

be  grown,  and  0.1  per  cent,  of  calcium  carbonate.  To 
destroy  all  living  organisms  in  this  prepared  soil  it  was 
kept  for  several  days  at  a  temperature  of  about  212°. 
A  fourth  pot  for  the  lupines  was  filled  with  soil  from  a 
field  where  lupines  were  growing,  to  which  was  added 
0.01  percent,  of  lupine  ash.  A  fourth  pot  for  each  of 
the  other  plants  was  filled  with  garden  soil. 

Seeds  were  sown  to  secure  a  uniform  stand  of  two 
plants  in  each  pot,  and  all  were  watered  with  distilled 
water.  To  one  of  the  three  pots  of  washed  and  sterilized 
quartz  sand,  for  each  kind  of  plant,  no  further  addition 
was  made,  while  the  other  two  were  inoculated,  or 
seeded,  with  a  soil-extract  prepared  as  in  HellriegeFs 
experiments.  For  the  lupine  pots  the  extract  was  pre- 
pared from  the  soil  of  a  field  where  lupines  were  grow- 
ing, and  for  the  other  plants  the  extract  was  prepared 
from  a  garden  soil  like  that  filling  the  fourth  pot  of 
each  series.  An  analysis  of  these  soil  extracts  showed 
that  the  elements  of  plant  food  they  contained  were  so 
small  in  quantity  that  they  could  be  safely  ignoved  in 
summing  up  the  results,  and  the  effects  of  the  extracts 
on  the  soil  could  only  be  attributed  to  the  microbes  with 
which  they  were  seeded. 

The  results  of  these  experiments  may  be  tabulated, 
as  in  table  2,  showing  the  height  of  the  two  plants  in 
each  pot. 

TABLE  2. 


HEIGHT  OF  PLANTS  IN  INCHES. 


Vetches. 

Yellow  lup'ns. 

Prepared  quartz  sand,  not 
inoculated  8J-8J 

lli-lOi 

li-2i 

Prepared  quartz  sand,  in- 
oculated              14-50£ 

52i-67 

24-18 

Prepared  quartz  sand,  in- 
oculated            52i-50j 

61i-51 

24-8 

(Janlrii  soil  for  peas  and  Plants    sfuall- 
vctches  —  field   soil  f  or  er  than  in  the 
lupines  inocul'd   pots. 

53-36 

16-18 

The  peas,  vetches  and  yellow  lupines  were  harvested 
at  the  close  of  the  season,  and  analyzed  to  ascertain  the 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES. 


FIG.  l.    PEAS.* 


*Pots  1,  2  and  3  were  filled  with  the  prepared  and  sterilized  quartz 
sand.  Pot  1  was  not  inoculated.  Pots  2  and  3  were  inoculated 
with  the  microbes  of  a  garden  soil  extract.  Pot  4  was  filled  with  a 
garden  soil. 


18  LAND   DRAINING. 

amount  of  nitrogen  assimilated,  and  the  nodules  and 
root  development  were  carefully  examined.  The  blue 
lupines  failed  to  grow,  and  the  red  clover  and  lucern 
were  recerved  for  a  second  year's  growth.  Copies  of  the 
photographs  of  the  plants,  taken  when  harvested,  are 
given  in  figs.  1,  2  and  3. 

The  limited  growth  of  the  plants  in  the  sterilized 
quartz  sand  that  was  not  inoculated  with  soil  extract 
(pots  1,  9  and  17)  was  apparently  determined  by  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  seed,  the  soil  itself  being 
practically  barren.  There  was  but  little  root  develop- 
ment in  these  pots,  and  no  root-nodules  could  be  found. 

In  the  pots  of  sterilized  quartz  sand  seeded  with  the 
microbes  of  a  soil  extract  (pots  2  and  3,  fig.  1—10  and 
11,  fig.  2,  and  18  and  19,  fig.  3),  there  was,  on  the 
other  hand,  abundant  root  development  and  numerous 
root-nodules.  On  the  roots  of  the  plants  in  the  garden 
soil  (pots  ,4,  fig.  1,  and  12,  fig.  2),  and  on  the  roots  of 
the  lupine  in  the  field  soil  (pot  20,  fig.  3)  some  root- 
nodules  were  found,  but  they  were  not  as  numerous  as 
on  the  roots  in  the  inoculated  quartz  sand. 

The  figures  clearly  show,  as  well  as  the  tabulated 
results,  that  the  growth  of  plants  in  a  sterile  quartz 
sand  was  materially  increased  by  inoculation  with  the 
microbes  of  a  soil  extract.  Another  still  more  striking 
and  suggestive  fact  is  the  failure  of  the  plants  in  the 
garden  and  field  soils  to  make  as  vigorous  growth  as  was 
made  in  the  inoculated  quartz  sand.  These  natural  soils 
undoubtedly  contained  very  much  more  of  all  of  the 
elements  of  what  we  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  as 
plant  food,  than  the  quartz  sand,  which,  when  seeded 
with  microbes,  proved  to  be  the  most  productive,  not- 
withstanding its  original  poverty  of  constitution. 

It  is  evident,  from  the  results  of  these  experiments, 
that  the  chemical  composition  of  soils  does  not  furnish 
evidence  of  fertility,  even  under  conditions  that  appear 


GEKERAL  PRINCIPLES. 


19 


FIG.  2.  VETCHES.* 


*Pots  9,  10  and  11  with  prepared  quartz  sand,  sterilized.  Pots  10 
and  11  inoculated  with  garden  soil  extract.  Pot  9  not  inoculated. 
Pot  12  with  garden  soil. 


20 


LAND   DRAINING. 


to  be  favorable  for  the  growth  of  plants,  and  that  micro- 
organisms in  the  soil  are  important  factors  in  the  elabo- 
ration of  plant  food. 

From  what  we  now  know  in  regard  to  soil  metabo- 
lism and  vegetable  nutrition,  the  comparatively  limited 


FIG.  3.    YELLOW  LUPINES.* 


growth  of  the  plants  in  the  garden  and  field  soils  (pots 
4,  12  and  20)  can  only  be  attributed  to  defective  biolog- 
ical conditions.  That  the  microbes,  concerned  in  the 
appropriation  of  free  nitrogen  from  the  air  permeating 


*Pots  17,  18  and  19  were  filled  with  the  prepared  quart/,  s;ind.  Tots 
18  and  19  were  inoculated  with  the  microbes  of  a  field  soil  extract,  and 
pot  17  was  not  inoculated.  Pot  20  \v;is  tilled  with  soil  from  a  field 
where  lupines  were  growing. 


GENEKAL   PRINCIPLES.  21 

the  soil,  found  less  favorable  conditions  for  growth  and 
development  in  the  garden  and  field  soils,  is  shown  by 
the  smaller  number  of  nodules  on  the  roots  of  the  plants 
growing  in  them,  as  already  noticed,  and  yet  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  sterile  quartz  sand  was  seeded  with 
the  microbes  in  a  water  extract  prepared  from  these 
same  natural  soils. 

Again,  the  garden  and  field  soils  had  a  great  appar- 
ent advantage  over  the  prepared  quartz  sand  in  the  com- 
bined nitrogen  of  the  organic  matters  they  contained ; 
but  this  was  not  made  available,  from  the  lack  of  suit- 
able conditions  for  the  nitrifying  microbes  that  were 
required  to  prepare  it  for  the  nutrition  of  plants,  or 
from  defective  conditions  for  root  distribution,  or  both, 
acting  together.  These  biological  defects  of  the  garden 
and  field  soils  were  probably  caused  by  physical  condi- 
tions resulting  from  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
packed  in  the  pots,  or  by  diminished  porosity  arising 
from  the  method  of  watering. 

Thus  farr  the  relations  of  microbes  to  soil  metabo- 
lism have  been  considered  with  reference  to  the  nitrogen 
supplies  of  plant  food,  but  there  is  evidence  that  the 
mineral  constituents  of  soils  undergo  transformations 
resulting  from  the  nutritive  processes  of  microbes  and 
the  roots  of  plants.  In  my  own  experiments  with  soil 
microbes,  the  glass  tubes  in  which  cultures  were  made, 
under  certain  conditions  of  defective  supply  of  lime  and 
potash  in  the  culture  solutions,  have  been  deeply  etched 
as  the  result  of  their  activities,  and  they  also  readily 
obtained  their  supplies  of  lime  and  potash  from  solid 
fragments  of  gypsum  and  feldspar. 

As  a  further  illustration  of  biological  activities  in 
soil  metabolism  we  should  not  fail  to  notice  that  the 
roots  of  plants  themselves  aid  in  the  disintegration  of 
soils,  through  their  selective  and  digestive  action  upon 
the  particles  of  soil  with  which  they  are  in  contact.  In 


22  LAND   DRAINING. 

Sachs'  well  known  experiments  the  details  of  the  root 
systems  of  beans,  squashes,  maize  and  wheat  were  clearly 
traced  on  polished  plates  of  "  marble,  dolomite  (carbon- 
ate of  lime  and  magnesia),  magnesite  (carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia) and  osteolite  (phosphate  of  lime),"  by  the  fibrils 
and  root-hairs  that  corroded  the  surfaces  on  which  they 
were  growing.*  Dietrich  found  that  the  roots  of 
"lupines,  peas,  vetches,  spurry  and  buckwheat  assisted 
in  the  decomposition  and  solution  of  the  basalt  and 
sandstone/''  presented  for  their  action  in  the  form  of 
coarse  powder,  f 

In  water-culture  experiments  the  plants  appropriate 
the  nitric  acid  of  nitrate  of  potash,  leaving  behind  the 
potash ;  and  "when  ammonium  chloride  is  employed  to 
supply  maize  with  nitrogen,  this  salt  is  decomposed,  its 
ammonia  assimilated,  and  its  chlorine,  which  the  plant 
cannot  use,  accumulates  in  the  solution  in  the  form  of 
hydrochloric  acid  to  such  an  extent  as  to  prove  fatal  to 
the  plant."  J  Whether  the  decomposition  of  these  com- 
pounds is  brought  about  directly  by  the  roots  of  the 
plants  themselves,  or  through  the  agency  of  micro- 
organisms in  the  culture  solutions,  has  not  been  deter- 
mined, but  in  either  case  these  changes  must  be  recog- 
nized as  the  result  of  biological  activities,  that  are  of 
interest  in  their  relations  to  soil  metabolism. 

In  every  direction  we  find  evidence  that  other  fac- 
tors than  the  food  supply  of  plants  must  be  considered 
as  having  an  influence  on  their  vigorous  growth  and 
ultimate  composition.  From  their  inherited  feeding 
habits,  and  the  relations  of  the  soil  constituents  to  the 
metabolism  and  demands  of  their  tissues  at  the  time, 
plants  seem  to  have  the  power  to  "take  what  they  want, 
and  when  they  want  it,  and  are  not  induced  to  take 
more  by  the  addition  of  larger  supplies." 


*  Sachs  1.  c.,  p.  625— How  Crops  Feed,  p.  326. 

tHow  Crops  Feed,  p.  327. 

jHow  Crops  Grow,  new  ed.  1890,  pp.  184,  403. 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  23 

In  the  Rothamsted  experiments  with  wheat  and 
barley  grown  for  a  long  series  of  years  on  the  same  land, 
under  widely  different  conditions  of  manure  supply,  it 
was  found  that  the  percentage  of  nitrogen,  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  dry  substance  of  the  grain  was 
influenced  more  by  the  season  than  by  the  supply  of 
these  constituents  in  the  soil,  and  that  in  favorable  sea- 
sons, for  the  perfect  maturing  and  ripening  of  the  grain, 
its  composition  was  quite  uniform  on  the  different  plots, 
which  presented  marked  contrast  in  the  amount  of  the 
food  constituents  contained  in  the  soil.  There  were 
greater  variations  in  the  composition  of  the  straw,  but 
the  influence  of  seasons  was  manifestly  more  significant 
in  producing  them  than  differences  in  the  composition 
of  the  soils. 

From  this  review  of  some  of  the  biological  factors 
of  soil  metabolism  and  vegetable  nutrition  it  must  be 
seen  that  the  abundant  supply  of  the  elements  of  plant 
food  in  soils  will  not  render  them  fertile  or  productive, 
unless  favorable  conditions  are  provided  for  the  normal 
exercise  of  the  vital,  or  physiological,  activities  of  the 
living  organisms  (roots  of  plants  and  soil  microbes)  on 
which  the  selection  and  elaboration  of  the  nutritive 
materials,  in  an  available  form,  so  largely  depend.  We 
can  now  profitably  consider  the  relations  of  the  different 
forms  of  water  in  the  soil  to  these  factors  of  soil  metab- 
olism and  plant  growth. 


CHAPTEE  II. 
WATER  IN   SOILS,  AND   CONSERVATION   OF  ENERGY. 

Water  in  the  soil  may  be  free,  or  in  combination 
with  its  constituents.  Free  soil  water  may  be  conven- 
iently considered  under  three  conditions,  which  have 
been  designated  by  Professor  S.  W.  Johnson  as  hydro- 
static, capillary  and  hygroscopic.* 

Hydrostatic,  or  Drainage  water  is  that  which 
may  percolate  through  the  soil  by  gravitation,  and  be 
removed  by  draining,  or,  in  case  of  undrained  soils  with 
a  retentive  sub-soil,  it  may  be  retained,  forming  the 
"standing  water"  of  the  soil.  The  surface  of  this 
drainage  water  in  the  soil  is  called  the  ivater  table,  to 
which  we  shall  frequent^  refer. 

Capillary  Water  is  held  in  contact  with  the  parti- 
cles of  soils  by  capillary  attraction,  and  gives  the  appear- 
ance of  moisture  in  all  fertile  soils. 

Hygroscopic  Water  is  in  more  intimate  relations 
with  the  soil  particles,  and  cannot  be  detected  by  the 
senses.  Soils  that  are  apparently  dry  from  the  escape 
of  capillary  water  by  evaporation,  or  otherwise,  when 
exposed  to  a  temperature  of  212°  for  some  time,  lose 
weight  from  the  loss  of  hygroscopic  water.  Capillary 
water  is  the  chief  source  of  the  water  absorbed  by  the 
roots  of  plants,  but,  under  otherwise  favorable  condi- 
tions, vigorous  plants  are  able  to  appropriate  hygroscopic 
water,  to  some  extent,  when  the  capillary  water  is 
exhausted. 


*How  Crops  Feed,  p.  199. 

24 


WATER  IN   SOILS.  25 

Behavior  of  Drainage  Water  in  Soils.  As 
drainage,  or  hydrostatic,  water  cannot  be  used  by  farm 
crops,  its  influence  on  the  soil  and  growing  plants  should 
be  carefully  studied. 

Available  Depth  of  Soils.  As  only  aquatic 
plants  can  grow  in  the  retained  drainage  water  of  soils, 
the  depth  of  available  soil  for  the  growth  of  farm  crops, 
in  soils  that  are  not  shallow  from  original  poverty  of 
constitution,  will  be  determined  by  the  distance  of  the 
water  table  below  the  surface.  If  the  roots  of  upland 
plants  penetrate  below  the  level  of  the  water  table,  or, 
if  the  water  table  is  raised,  by  rains,  to  submerge  roots 
already  developed,  they  become  unhealthy,  and  the 
plants  accordingly  suffer  from  defective  nutrition,  as 
pointed  out  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

When  the  rainfall  is  in  excess  of  evaporation  the 
water  table  may  be  near,  or  even  above,  the  general  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  as  shown  by  standing  puddles  of  water, 
and  the  soil,  in  this  saturated  condition,  is  entirely 
unfitted  for  the  growth  of  valuable  plants.  In  time  of 
drouth  the  water  table  is  lowered,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  by  evaporation,  but  in  the  case  of  heavy  or  loamy 
soils  this  does  not  immediately  restore  the  reclaimed  soil 
to  a  favorable  condition  for  growing  crops.  Heavy  and 
loamy  soils  that  have  been  saturated  with  water,  and 
then  dried  by  surface  evaporation,  have  a  compact 
arrangement  of  their  particles,  are  not  readily  pulverized, 
and  a  considerable  time  is  required  to  secure  the  perme- 
able and  porous  condition  that  will  permit  the  circula- 
tion of  capillary  water,  or  a  free  distribution  of  the  roots 
of  plants,  and  furnish  a  favorable  environment  for  the 
beneficial  microbes  that  are  needed  to  prepare  plant  food 
from  the  inert  organic,  or  other  materials,  the  soil  may 
contain  The  atmosphere  is  likewise  excluded  from  the 
soil,  through  its  defective  porosity,  and  the  supplies  of 
oxygen,  that  are  needed  by  the  plants  and  absorbed  by 


26  LAND   DRAINING. 

i 

their  roots,  are  therefore  cut  off.  Soils  that  are  satu- 
rated with  drainage  water  during  the  spring  months,  do 
not  respond  to  the  ameliorating  influences  of  tillage,  or 
the  application  of  manures,  from  their  defective  physi- 
cal and  biological  conditions,  and  the  resulting  changes 
in  soil  metabolism  may  involve  an  actual  loss  of  the  ele- 
ments of  fertility.  In  favorable  seasons  moderate  crops 
may,  perhaps,  be  grown,  but  in  wet  or  cold  seasons,  or 
when  severe  drouths  prevail,  an  entire  failure  of  remu- 
nerative crops  may  be  expected,  and  a  reasonably  high 
average  of  productiveness  cannot  be  secured. 

Relations  of  Water  to  Soil  Temperatures.  The 
marked  influence  of  hydrostatic,  or  drainage,  water  in 
lowering  the  temperature  of  soils,  has  often  been 
observed,  and  it  may  be  well  to  inquire  how  this  effect  is 
produced,  as  it  will  aid  us  in  gaining  clearer  notions  of 
the  relations  of  soil  water  to  the  nutrition  and  growth 
of  plants.  In  order  to  furnish  a  basis  for  a  rational  dis- 
cucsion  of  the  phenomena  under  consideration,  attention 
must  be  given  to  some  of  the  elementary  principles  of 
science  relating  to  the  various  forms,  and  manifestations 
of  energy. 

Conservation  of  Energy.  That  the  forces  of 
nature  appear  less  mysterious  as  the  progress  of  knowl- 
edge enables  us  to  measure,  and  trace,  their  interdepend- 
ent relations,  and  refer  them  to  a  common  law,  is  strik- 
ingly manifest  in  the  recent  extended  applications  of  the 
principle  of  the  conservation  of  energy,  in  almost  every 
department  of  science,  and  the  productive  arts.  Energy 
has  been  defined  as  "the  power  of  doing  work,  or  of 
overcoming  resistance."  It  "  can  neither  be  created,  nor 
destroyed,"  but  is  manifest  in  a  variety  of  mutually  con- 
vertible forms,  in  accordance  with  what  is  now  recog- 
nized as  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy,  which, 
according  to  Faraday,  is  "the  highest  law  in  physical 
science  which  our  faculties  permit  us  to  perceive." 


WATER   IN    SOILS.  27 

This  law  is  formulated  by  Maxwell  as  follows : 
"  The  total  energy  of  any  body,  or  system  of  bodies,  is  a 
quantity  which  can  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
by  any  mutual  action  of  these  bodies,  though  it  may  be 
transformed  into  any  one  of  the  forms  of  which  energy 
is  susceptible."  These  forms  of  energy  are  known  as 
motion,  heat,  light,  electricity,  magnetism,  chemical 
affinity,  etc.,  which,  in  the  light  of  this  law,  may  be 
looked  upon  as  correlated  and  convertible  terms. 

All  forms  of  energy  may  readily  be  reduced  to  heat, 
and  this,  therefore,  is  the  standard  by  which  they  all 
are  measured.  The  heat  required  to  raise  the  tempera 
ture  of  one  pound  of  water  one  degree,  is  adopted  as  the 
unit  of  heat,  and  a  unit  for  measuring  work  in  terms  of 
this  heat-unit,  is  evidently  needed  in  tracing  the  mani- 
festations of  energy  in  its  various  transformations. 

We  are  indebted  to  Joule  for  the  experimental 
demonstration  of  the  law  of  conservation  of  energy,  in 
his  experiments  to  determine  the  mechanical  equivalent 
of  heat,  which  were  carried  on  from  1840  to  1849,  and 
again,  with  more  exact  methods  for  the  purpose  of  veri- 
fication, from  1870  to  1877.  He  proved  that  the  energy 
expended  in  raising  a  weight  of  one  pound  772  feet  (or 
a  weight  of  772  pounds  one  foot),  was  equivalent  to  the 
heat  required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  one  pound  of 
water  one  degree,  i.  e.,  from  60°  to  (5i°  F.  The  unit  of 
work  is,  therefore,  772  foot-pounds,*  the  mechanical 
equivalent  of  the  heat  unit. 

The  conservation  of  energy  was  shown  by  reversin 
the  process.  When  the  weight  of  one  pound  falls  77 
feet  (or  a  weight  of  772  pounds  falls  one  foot),  and  its 
motion  is  arrested,  heat  is  produced  that  will  raise  the 
temperature  of  one  pound  of  water  one  degree ;  that  is 

*The  French  unit  of  heat  is  the  amount  required  to  raise  the  tem- 
perature of  one  kilogram  of  water  (2.2  Ibs.)  one  centigrade  degree 
in  temperature;  and  its  mechanical  equivalent  is  424  kilogram-meters, 
or  a  weight  of  424  kilograms  raised  one  meter  (3.28)  feet. 


C" 

rye;.) 


28  LAKD   DRAINING. 

to  say,  the  heat  expended  in  the  work  performed  in  rais- 
ing the  weight,  and  the  heat  liberated  in  its  fall,  are 
strictly  correlated  and  equal.  The  mechanical  equiva- 
lent of  heat  (772  foot-pounds)  is  the  unit  standard  for 
measuring  work,  whether  it  is  done  by  a  machine,  by 
animal  power,  or  in  the  various  operations  of  nature. 
As  the  heat  unit  is  equivalent  to  772  foot-pounds,  tho 
various  forms  of  energy  may  be  measured  and  expressed 
in  heat-units,  representing  the  energy  expended,  or,  in 
foot-pounds,  representing  the  work  done. 

The  applications  of  this  law  of  conservation  of 
energy  have  led  to  a  revolution  in  the  physical  sciences, 
and  they  are  now  recognized  as  of  equal  importance  in 
vegetable  and  animal  physiology,  which  are  included  in 
the  general  term,  biology.  We  can  no  longer  look  upon 
the  chemical  changes,  taking  place  in  the  arrangament 
and  rearrangement  of  the  elements  entering  into  the 
composition  of  plants  and  animals,  as  the  sole  subjects 
of  interest  in  their  processes  of  nutrition  and  growth. 
More  than  twenty-five  years  ago  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter 
pointed  out  to  physiologists  the  importance  of  distin- 
guishing between  "dynamical  and  material  conditions ; 
the  former  supplying  the  power  which  does  the  work, 
whilst  the  latter  affords  the  instrumental  means  through 
which  that  power  operates,"  and  the  early  prevailing 
chemical  theories  in  physiology  have  gradually  given 
place  to  broader  views,  in  harmony  with  the  universal 
law  of  the  conservation  of  energy. 

At  the  present  time  the  transformations  of  energy 
are  accepted  by  physiologists  as  essential  and  significant 
factors  in  the  vital  activities  and  nutritive  processes  of 
all  living  beings.  It  is  now  known  that  the  building  up 
of  the  organic  substance  of  plants  and  animals  (con- 
structive metabolism)  involves  an  expenditure  of  energy, 
and  that  a  supply  of  energy  is  necessary  for  the  main- 
tenance of  life. 


WATER   IK    SOILS.  29 

The  manifestations  of  energy,  in  the  processes  of 
plant  growth,  have  been  observed  under  conditions  that 
fully  demonstrate  their  significance  as  factors  in  vital 
activities  from  the  mechanical  effect  produced.  Presi- 
dent Clark,  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College, 
placed  a  harness  on  a  squash,  so  that  a  lever,  to  which 
weights  could  be  attached,  resting  upon  it,  gave  an 
equable  pressure  to  the  surface,  and  furnished  the  means 
of  measuring  the  mechanical  force  exerted  in  its  pro- 
cesses of  growth.  As  the  squash  continued  to  grow,  the 
weights  suspended  from  the  long  arm  of  the  lever  were 
increased,  until  it  was  found  capable  of  overcoming  a 
resistance  of  4,120  pounds.* 

In  walking  several  times  a  day  over  a  well-made 
asphalt  sidewalk  last  summer,  my  attention  was  directed 
to  a  gradually  increasing  elevation  of  two  places  in  the 
walk,  each  less  than  one  foot  in  diameter,  and  about 
two  rods  distant  from  a  Lombardy  Poplar,  growing  on 
the  adjacent  grounds.  From  day  to  day  the  elevation 
of  these  circumscribed  areas  became  more  marked,  in 
spite  of  the  resisting  surface  and  the  tramping  they 
received  from  pedestrians,  until  a  complete  fracture  of 
the  asphalt  was  made,  and  sprouts  from  the  roots  of  the 
tree,  which  had  been  pushing  their  way  from  below, 
made  their  appearance  above  the  surface,  and  explained 
the  apparent  mystery  as  an  incident  in  the  "struggle 
for  existence."  The  force  exerted  by  the  growing  tips 
of  these  shoots  cannot,  of  course,  be  expressed  in  foot- 
pounds, but  if  Ave  take  into  account  their  small  trans- 
verse section,  and  the  character  of  the  mass  moved,  it  is 
evident,  from  the  resistance  overcome  by  them,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  area  of  their  active  surface,  that  the  force 
exerted  must  have  been  enormous. 

Energy  is  not  only  required  and  expended  in  the 
work  of  building  organic  substances,  but  it  is  also  stored 

*Mass.  Ag.  Rep't,  1874.  p.  220. 


30  LAND   DKAINIKG. 

up  as  a  necessary  condition  of  their  constitution,  in 
which  form  it  is  called  potential  energy.  "A  weight 
requires  work  to  raise  it  to  a  height,  a  spring  requires 
work  to  bend  it,  air  requires  work  to  compress  it,  etc.  ; 
but  a  raised  weight,  a  bent  spring,  compressed  air,  etc., 
are  stores  of  energy  (i.  e.,  potential  energy),  which  can 
be  made  use  of  at  pleasure,"  and  in  the  same  way  the 
stored,  or  potential,  energy  of  plants  must  be  looked 
upon  as  representing  the  work  performed  in  their  pro- 
cesses of  construction  or  growth.  "By  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  amount  of  organic  substance  formed  by  a 
plant  from  its  first  development  to  its  death,  it  is  possi- 
ble to  arrive  at  some  idea  of  the  amount  of  kinetic 
(active)  energy  which  the  plant  has  stored  up  in  the 
potential  form ;  for  the  heat  which  is  given  out  by 
burning  the  organic  substance  is  but  the  conversion  into 
kinetic  (active)  energy  of  the  potential  energy  stored 
up  in  its  substance ;  it  is  but  the  reappearance  of  the 
kinetic  energy  which  was  used  in  producing  the  sub- 
stance. The  heat,  for  instance,  which  is  given  out  by 
burning  wood  or  coal,  represents  the  kinetic  energy, 
derived  principally  from  the  sun's  rays,  by  which  were 
effected  the  processes  of  constructive  metabolism,  of 
which  the  wood  or  the  coal  was  the  product. "  * 

Reference  is  here  made  to  the  active  energy  used  in 
the  strictly  constructive  processes  of  the  plant,  and  does 
not  include,  as  will  be  seen  from  what  follows,  the 
much  larger  expenditures  of  energy  involved  in  inci- 
dental processes  of  plant  growth.  On  the  death  and 
decomposition  of  both  plants  and  animals,  the  energy 
that  has  been  used  in  the  constructive  processes,  and 
stored  up  in  their  tissues  as  potential  energy,  is  liberated 
in  the  form  of  sensible  heat.  The  heat  developed  in 
decaying  masses  of  manure,  and  other  organic  materials, 
arises  from  the  liberated  potential  energy  of  the  organic 
substances,  of  which  they  are  composed. 

*Art.  Phys.  Encyl.  Brit.,  9th  ed.,  Vol.  XIX,  p.  56. 


WATEE    IN    SOILS.  31 

The  energy  required  in  the  constructive  processes  of 
plants,  as  already  pointed  out,  is  derived  chiefly  from 
the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun,  but  it  is  supplemented  by 
the  potential  energy  of  organic  matters  in  the  soil,  which 
is  liberated  as  heat,  through  the  agency  of  the  soi; 
microbes  concerned  in  their  decomposition.  In  soil 
metabolism  there  is,  therefore,  not  only  an  elaboration 
of  available  food  for  the  nutrition  of  plants,  but  energy, 
in  the  form  of  heat,  is  liberated  from  the  soil  constitu- 
ents, which,  under  favorable  conditions,  may  be  again 
utilized  in  warming  the  soil,  and  in  the  constructive 
processes  of  vegetable  nutrition. 

It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that  the  potential 
energy  of  all  organic  substances  came  originally  from 
the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun,  which  must  be  recog- 
nized as  the  ultimate  source  of  the  energy  of  plants 
and  animals.  The  energy  required  in  the  processes  of 
constructive  metabolism  in  animals,  and  the  energy 
expended  by  them  in  work,  is  derived  from  the  potential 
energy  of  the  plants  on  which  they  feed,  and  this  supply 
of  energy  is  quite  as  essential  to  their  nutrition  and  well- 
being,  as  the  constituents  of  their  food  that  are  used  in 
building  up  their  tissues.  The  obvious  significance  of 
this  fact  in  the  philosophy  of  feeding  we  must  pass  with- 
out further  notice. 

From  what  has  already  been  presented  in  regard  to 
the  correlated  manifestations  of  energy,  it  must  be  seen 
that  the  farmer  is  constantly  dealing  with  it?  not  only 
in  the  constructive  processes  of  nutrition  of  plants  and 
animals,  but  in  every  interest  and  detail  of  farm  man- 
agement,  and  that  the  profits  of  the  farm  must  largely 
depend  upon  his  skill  and  success  in  directing  and  con- 
trolling this  prime  factor  in  nature's  operations. 

Energy  of  the  Universe.  The  real  significance 
of  energy,  as  a  factor  in  farm  economy,  cannot,  howevc  , 
be  fully  appreciated,  without  taking  broader  views,  t!.i;L 


32  LAND  DRAINING. 

embrace  its  relations  to  all  natural  phenomena.  From 
the  law  of  conservation,  as  formulated  by  Maxwell,  it 
appears  that  the  energy  of  the  universe  is  a  constant 
quantity,  that  is  neither  increased  nor  diminished  by 
tlie  various  changes  of  form  it  undergoes,  and  its  terres- 
trial manifestations  must  therefore  represent  but  a  small 
part  of  the  stupendous  whole. 

The  ubiquitous  and  interdependent  transformations 
of  energy  are  tersely  stated  by  Tyndall  as  follows  :  "As 
surely  as  the  force  which  moves  a  clock's  hands  is 
derived  from  the  arm  which  winds  up  the  clock,  so 
surely  is  all  terrestrial  power  drawn  from  the  sun. 
Leaving  out  of  account  the  eruptions  of  volcanoes,  and 
the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tides,  every  mechanical  action 
on  the  earth's  surface,  every  manifestation  of  power, 
organic  and  inorganic,  vital  and  physical,  is  produced 
by  the  sun.  His  warmth  keeps  the  sea  liquid,  and  the 
atmosphere  a  gas,  and  all  the  storms  which  agitate  both 
are  blown  by  the  mechanical  force  of  the  sun.  He  lifts 
the  rivers  and  the  glaciers  up  to  the  mountains,  and 
thus  the  cataract  and  the  avalanche  shoot  with  an  energy 
derived  immediately  from  him.  Thunder  and  lightning 
are  also  his  transmuted  strength.  Every  fire  that  burns, 
and  every  flame  that  glows,  dispenses  light  and  heat 
which  originally  belonged  to  the  sun.  In  these  days, 
unhappily,  the  news  of  battle  is  familiar  to  us,  but  every 
shock,  and  every  charge,  is  an  application,  or  misappli- 
cation, of  the  mechanical  force  of  the  sun.  He  blows 
the  trumpet,  he  urges  the  projectile,  he  bursts  the  bomb. 
And  remember,  this  is  not  poetry,  but  rigid  mechanical 
truth.  He  rears,  as  I  have  said,  the  whole  vegetable 
world,  and  through  it  the  animal ;  the  lilies  of  the  field 
are  his  workmanship,  the  verdure  of  the  meadow,  and 
the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.  He  forms  the  muscle, 
he  urges  the  blood,  he* builds  the  brain.  His  fleetness  is 
in  the  lion's  foot,  he  springs  in  the  panther,  he  soars  in 


WATER  Itf    SOILS. 

the  eagle,  he  glides  in  the  snake.  He  builds  the  forest, 
and  hews  it  down,  the  power  which  raised  the  tree,  and 
which  wields  the  axe,  being  one  and  the  same.  The 
ciover  sprouts  and  blossoms,  and  the  scythe  of  the 
mower  swings,  by  the  operation  of  the  same  force.  The 
sun  digs  the  ore  from  our  mines,  he  rolls  the  iron,  he 
rivets  the  plates,  he  boils  the  water,  he  draws  the  train, 
lie  not  only  grows  the  cotton,  but  he  spins  the  fiber  and 
weaves  the  web.  There  is  not  a  hammer  raised,  a  wheel 
turned,  or  a  shuttle  thrown,  that  is  not  raised,  and 
turned,  and  thrown  by  the  sun.  His  energy  is  poured 
freely  into  space,  but  our  world  is  a  halting  place,  where 
this  energy  is  conditioned.  Here  the  Proteus  works  his 
spells ;  the  selfsame  essence  takes  a  million  shapes  and 
hues,  and  finally  dissolves  into  its  primitive  and  almost 
formless  form.  The  sun  comes  to  us  as  heat,  he  quits 
us  as  heat,  and  between  his  entrance  and  departure  the 
multiform  powers  of  our  globe  appear.  They  are  all 
special  forms  of  solar  power — the  moulds  into  which  his 
strength  is  temporarily  poured,  in  passing  from  its 
source  through  infinitude. 

"Presented  rightly  to  the  mind,  the  discoveries  and 
generalizations  of  modern  science  constitute  a  poem 
more  sublime  than  has  ever  yet  been  addressed  to  the 
intellect  and  imagination  of  man.  The  natural  philos- 
opher of  to-day  may  dwell  amid  conceptions  which  beg- 
gar those  of  Milton.  So  great  and  grand  are  they,  that 
in  the  contemplation  of  them  a  certain  force. of  character 
is  requisite  to  preserve  us  from  bewilderment.  Look  at 
the  integrated  energies  of  our  world — the  stored  power 
of  our  coal-fields ;  our  winds  and  rivers ;  our  fleets, 
armies  and  guns.  What  are  they  ?  They  are  all  gener- 
ated by  a  portion  of  the  sun's  energy,  which  does  not 
amount  to  ^uoooVoooTT  °f  the  whole.  This,  in  fact,  is 
the  entire  fraction  of  the  sun's  force  intercepted  by  the 
earth,  and,  in  reality,  we  convert  but  a  small  fraction  of 
3 


34  LAND  DRAINING. 

this  fraction  into  mechanical  energy.  Multiplying  all 
our  powers  by  millions  of  millions,  we  do  not  reach  the 
sun's  expenditure.  And  still,  notwithstanding  this  enor- 
mous drain,  in  the  lapse  of  human  history  we  are  unable 
to  detect  a  diminution  of  his  store.  Measured  by  our 
largest  terrestrial  standards,  such  a  reservoir  of  power  is 
infinite ;  but  it  is  our  privilege  to  rise  above  these  stand- 
ards, and  to  regard  the  sun  himself  as  a  speck  in  infinite 
extension,  a  mere  drop  in  the  universal  sea.  We  analyze 
the  space  in  which  lie  is  immersed,  and  which  is  the 
vehicle  of  his  power.  We  pass  to  other  systems  and 
other  suns,  each  pouring  forth  energy  like  our  own,  but 
still  without  infringement  of  the  law,  which  reveals 
immutability  in  the  miilst  of  change,  which  recognizes 
incessant  transference  and  conversion,  but  neither  gain 
nor  loss.  This  law  generalizes  the  aphorism  of  Solomon, 
that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,  by  teaching  us 
to  detect  everywhere,  under  its  infinite  variety  of  appear- 
ances, the  same  primeval  force.  To  nature  nothing  can 
be  added ;  from  nature  nothing  can  be  taken  away ;  the 
sum  of  her  energies  is  constant,  and  the  utmost  man  can 
do  in  the  pursuit  of  physical  truth,  or  in  the  applications 
of  physical  knowledge,  is  to  shift  the  constituents  of  tho 
never-varying  total,  and  out  of  one  of  them  to  form 
another.  The  law  of  conservation  rigidly  excludes  both 
creation  and  annihilation.  Waves  may  change  to  rip- 
ples, and  ripples  to  waves ;  magnitude  may  be  substi- 
tuted for  number,  and  number  for  magnitude  ;  asteroids 
may  aggregate  to  suns,  suns  may  resolve  themselves  into 
flor.i  and  fauna,  and  flora  and  fauna  melt  in  air,  the 
flux  of  power  is  eternally  the  same.  It  rolls  in  music 
through  the  a^es,  and  all  terrestrial  energy — the  mani- 
festations of  life,  as  well  as  the  display  of  phenomena — 
are  but  the  modulations  of  its  rhythm."* 

*Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion,  N.  Y.  ed.,  1863,  pp.  446-449. 


CHAPTER    III. 
RAINFALL,  DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORATION. 

The  relations  of  evaporation  and  drainage  to  rainfall 
must  now  be  studied  to  obtain  some  of  the  data  required 
in  estimating  the  expenditures  of  energy  in  growing 
crops.  Experiments  to  determine  the  amount  of  drain- 
age and  evaporation  from  soils  have  repeatedly  been 
made,  but  a  small  number  of  them,  however,  have  been 
carried  on  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  especially  in 
the  United  States,  to  be  of  assistance  in  settling  general 
principles.  The  conditions  that  may  have  an  influence 
on  evaporation  and  drainage  are  so  exceedingly  complex, 
that  a  detailed  examination  of  the  available  records 
which  have  been  collated  in  the  following  tables,  will  be 
required  to  obtain  results  of  practical  value. 

As  early  as  1796  Dr.  John  Dalton,  so  well  known  to 
chemists  as  the  author  of  the  atomic  theory,  made  a 
drain-gauge,  consisting  of  a  cylinder  ten  inches  in  diam- 
eter, and  three  feet  deep,  filled  with  soil,  with  arrange- 
ments for  measuring  the  water  passing  through  it.  His 
observations  for  three  years  (1796-98)  showed  that  on 
the  average  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  rainfall  was 
removed  from  the  soil  by  drainage,  and  seventy-five  per 
cent,  by  evaporation.  The  last  two  years,  grass  was 
allowed  to  grow  on  the  soil  of  the  gauge,  which  must 
have  had  an  influence  on  the  results.*  The  average 
annual  rainfall  at  Manchester,  where  the  experiments 
were  conducted,  is  about  thirty -six  inches.  This  form 


*Men.  Lit.  Phil.  Soc.  of  Manchester,  Vol.  V,  pt.  2,  as  quoted  in  J.  R. 
Ag.  Soc.,  1871,  p.  130. 

35 


36  LAND  DRAINING. 

of  drain-gauge,  known  as  Dalton's  gauge,  was  adopted 
by  other  experimenters,  with  some  modifications  of  the 
apparatus,  for  collecting  the  drainage  water. 

Mr.  John  Dickinson,  of  Abbots  Hill,  near  King's 
Langley,  Herts,  England,  made  experiments  with  a  Dal- 
ton's gauge,  the  results  of  which  may  be  profitably 
studied  in  detail.  His  gauge  was  twelve  inches  in  diam- 
eter, and  three  feet  deep,  filled  with  a  sandy,  gravelly 
loam,  on  which  grass  was  growing.*  The  rainfall  was 
measured  with  a  common  rain-gauge.  The  prominent 
facts  recorded  by  Mr.  Dickinson  are  given  in  tables  3,  4, 
5  and  6,  in  convenient  form  to  illustrate  the  observed 
variations  in  drainage  and  evaporation. 

TABLE  3. 

AVERAGE  RESULTS  FOR  EACH  MONTH  FOB  EIGHT  YEARS  WITH  DICK- 
INSON'S DRAIN-GAUGE. 


Months. 

Rain 
Inches. 

Drain- 
age 
Inches. 

Evapora- 
tion 
Indies. 

Drainage 
per  c't.  of 
rainfall. 

KvapoVn 
per  c't.  of 
rainfall. 

October 

2.823 
3.837 
1.641 
1.847 
1.971 
1.617 

1.400 
3.258 
1.805 
1.307 
1.547 
1.077 

1.423 
0.579 
—0.164 
0.540 
0.424 
0.540 

49.5 
84.9 
100.04- 
70.7 

78.4 
66.6 

50.5 
15.1 
00.0 
2i).3 
21.6 
33.4 

November  

February  

March  

April  
May  

1.456 
1.856 
2.213 
2.287 
2.427 
2.639 

0.306 
0.108 
0.039 
0.042 
0.036 
0.369 

1.150 
1.748 
2.174 
2.245 
2.391 
2.270 

21.0 
5.8 
1.7 
1.8 
1.4 
13.9 

79.0 
94.2 
98.3 
96.2 

98.6 

86.1 

July  

September  

Totals  and  means. 


26.614 


11.294 


15.320 


42.4 


57.6 


The  heaviest  rainfall,  it  will  be  seen,  was  from  June 
to  November,  and  the  drainage  in  the  summer  half 
of  the  year,  from  April  to  September,  was  very  small 
The  average  annual  rainfall  of  but  26.6  inches  was  con- 
siderably below  the  average  of  the  locality  for  a  longer 
series  of  years.  The  comparatively  large  actual,  and 
percentage  of  evaporation  in  the  summer  months,  will 
likewise  be  noticed,  with  the  increased  drainage  in  the 


*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1844,  p.  146. 


DRAINAGE   AND    EVAPORATION. 


37 


winter  months,  notwithstanding  the  smaller  amount  of 
rainfall.  These  variations  must  be  attributed,  in  the 
main,  to  the  higher  summer  temperature,  which  would 
increase  the  evaporation  from  the  soil,  and  lead  to  a 
more  rapid  exhalation  of  water  by  the  grass  in  its  more 
vigorous  growth. 

In  December,  it  will  be  seen,  the  average  drainage 
exceeded  the  rainfall  for  the  month,  and  the  evaporation, 
which  is  estimated  as  the  difference  between  drainage 
and  rainfall,  falls  to  zero.  Evaporation  from  the  soil 
undoubtedly  occurred,  and  while  the  drainage  records 
may  be  accepted  as  correct,  the  estimated  evaporation 
needs  an  indefinite  correction,  which  will  again  be  noticed 
in  comments  on  another  table.  In  table  4  the  yearly 
variations  in  rainfall,  drainage  and  evaporation  are  given. 

TABL.E  4. 

ANNUAL  VARIATIONS  IN  RAINFALL,  DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORATION 
OBSERVED  BY  DICKINSON. 


Years. 

Rain     Inches.       Drainage      Inches. 

Evapo'tion  Indies. 

1836 
1837 

1838 
1839 
1840 
1841 
1842 
1843 

31.00 
21.10 
23.13 
31.28 
21.44 
32.10 
26.43 
26.47 

17.65 
6.95 
8.57 
14.91 
8.19 
14.19 
11.76 
8.16 

13.35 
14.15 
14.56 
16.37 
13.25      ' 
17.91 
14.67 
18.31 

Means 

26.61 

11.30 

15.32 

The  annual  rainfall  varied  from  21.10  inches  to 
32.10  inches,  a  difference  of  11  inches,  and  in  several  of 
the  years  there  was  evidently  a  severe  drouth.  The 
annual  drainage  varied  from  6.95  to  17.65  inches,  a  dif- 
ference of  10.70  inches.  The  difference  between  the 
rainfall  and  drainage  is  accounted  for  as  evaporation, 
and,  on  this  assumption,  the  moisture  of  the  soil  should 
be  the  same  at  the  beginning  and  the  close  of  the  exper- 
iments, which  may  not  be  the  case.  This  element  of 
error  will  not,  however,  materially  affect  the  general 
averages  of  the  above  series  of  years. 


38  LAND  DRAINING. 

The  evaporation  would,  of  course,  be  influenced  by 
the  mean  temperature  and  humidity  of  the  atmosphere, 
especially  in  the  summer  months,  and  the  relative  vigor 
of  the  growth  of  the  grass  on  the  soil  of  the  gauge, 
besides  other  conditions  which  we  need  not  notice  here. 
The  lowest  evaporation  recorded  was  13.25  inches  in 
1840,  with  the  very  low  rainfall  of  21.44  inches,  and 
13.35  inches  in  1836,  with  a  rainfall  of  31.00  inches. 
The  highest  amount  of  evaporation  was  18.31  inches  in 
1843,  with  a  rainfall  of  but  26.47  inches,  which  is  less 
than  the  average  of  the  eight  years.  If  these  extremes 
(which  we  are  unable  to  explain,  in  the  absence  of  a 
record  of  the  peculiarities  of  these  seasons,  as  to  tempera- 
ture, etc.)  are  omitted  as  exceptional,  we  find  that  in 
the  remaining  five  years,  with  a  rainfall  ranging  from 
21.10  to  32.10  inches,  the  evaporation  varied  from  14.15 
to  17.91  inches,  a  difference  of  only  3.76  inches,  while 
the  drainage  varied  from  6.95  to  14.91,  a  difference  of 
nearly  eight  inches,  from  which  it  appears  that  the 
evaporation  is  less  influenced  by  the  rainfall  than  the 
drainage. 

The  averages  by  months  and  years  do  not,  however, 
bring  out  all  of  the  facts  that  are  required  to  explain 
the  real  relations  of  rainfall  and  drainage,  and  the  record 
is  presented  in  another  form  in  table  5,  which  will  clear 
up  some  of  the  apparently  anomalous  results  which  are 
noticed  above. 

The  remarkable  variations  in  the  relations  of  drain- 
age and  rainfall  recorded  in  this  table  are  suggestive. 
In  1841,  the  year  of  highest  rainfall,  32.10  inches  (or 
5.48  inches  above  the  average),  there  was  drainage  from 
the  Dalton  gauge  in  but  four  months  of  the  year,  namely, 
slightly  more  than  half  an  inch  in  March,  and  an  unu- 
sual amount  in  the  last  three  months.  In  the  first 
eight  months  of  the  year  the  rainfall  was  not  quite  1.5 
inches  above  the  average  for  the  eight  years,  and  this  is 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION. 


39 


Rain 


^  p  p  p  p  ! 
O1  O  H*  O  —  • 

oSotoro* 


Drainage 
Inches. 


Rain 
Inches. 


Drainage 
Inches. 


8O5  OO  O  OS 
tOOOOD 


t^'Rain 
Inches. 


J 


to  *•  01  Drainage 

,g?5g  Inches. 


-  H"-»  to  HI  0 

fegS^ij 


toto->-ioi-  Rain 

^j  fr  Inches. 


l- 

o||g 


Drainage 
SS32§g  Inches. 


Rain 
Inches. 


Drainage 
Inches. 


BLE 

ALS  FOB  EA 

ECI 


5. 
OB 

MAL 


40  LA.ND   DKAINING. 

accounted  for  by  the  unusual  rains  of  June,  July  and 
August  (in  which  there  was  no  drainage) ;  while  in  the 
last  four  months  it  was  more  than  four  inches  above  the 
average.  In  the  last  three  months  the  rainfall  was  2.68 
inches  above  the  average,  and  the  drainage  was  2.68 
inches  in  excess  of  the  rainfall,  the  unusually  heavy  rain 
of  September  (without  any  drainage  in  that  month), 
having  been  partly  accounted  for  as  drainage  in  the  fol- 
lowing months,  and  condensation  of  water  from  the 
atmosphere  may,  to  some  extent,  have  taken  place. 

In  the  years  of  next  highest  rainfall,  31.00  inches 
in  1836,  and  31.28  in  1839,  there  was  drainage  every 
month  of  the  year,  while  in  the  remaining  six  years  of 
-the  record  (including  1841,  the  year  of  highest  rainfall), 
drainage  was  entirely  suspended  from  four  to  eight 
months.  It  will  likewise  be  seen  that  in  four  years 
(1837,  '38,  '39  and  '42)  the  drainage  exceeded  the  rainfall 
in  February  or  March,  and  in  five  years  (1838,  '39,  '40,  '41 
and  '43)  the  drainage  exceeded  the  rainfall  in  one  or  all 
of  the  last  three  months.  In  May,  1843,  the  highest 
rainfall  in  a  single  month  (with  the  exception  of  Novem- 
ber, 1842)  was  accompanied  with  a  drainage  of  only  0.74 
of  an  inch,  the  soil,  from  its  deficiency  of  moisture  dur- 
ing the  preceding  two  months,  having  evidently  absorbed 
and  retained  it. 

From  the  percentage  columns  of  table  3,  it  might 
be  inferred  that  a  regular  increase  in  drainage,  and 
decrease  in  evaporation,  from  summer  to  winter,  in  both 
spring  and  fall,  was  the  rule  of  general  application  ;  but 
the  more  detailed  record,  in  table  5,  shows  that  the  rela- 
tions of  rainfall  to  drainage  and  evaporation  are  more 
complex  than  the  figures  of  averages  indicate.  The  dis- 
tribution of  the  rainfall  throughout  the  year,  the  char- 
acter of  prevailing  winds,  the  temperature  and  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  capacity  of  soils  to  absorb  and 
retain  moisture,  and  the  degree  of  luxuriance  of  the 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION. 


growing  crops,  are  all  factors  in  determining  the  results, 
that  are  readily  recognized.  As  we  have  not  the  data 
for  a  satisfactory  discussion  of  these  causes  of  variation 
in  the  experiments  under  consideration,  we  can  only 
notice  them  and  pass  on  to  examine  the  table  of  half- 
yearly  averages. 

TABLE  6. 

HALF-YEARLY  AVERAGES,  FOR  EACH  YEAR.  AND  FOR  THE  TOTAL 
PERIOD  OF  EIGHT  YEARS,  OBSERVED  BY  DICKINSON. 


Years. 

Winter  half-year,  October 
to  March. 

Summer  half-year,  April 
to  September. 

Rain 
Inches. 

Drainage 
Inches. 

Evapo'tn 
Inches. 

Rain 
Inches. 

Drainage 
Inches. 

Evapo'tn 
Inches. 

1836    .... 
1837    .... 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1841  .       . 
1842  . 
1843  .... 

18.80 
11.30 
12.32 
13.87 
11.76 
16.84 
14.28 
12.43 

15.55 
6.85 
8.45 
12.31 
8.19 
14.19 
10.46 
7.11 

3.25 
4.45 
3.85 
1.56 
3.57 
2.65 
3.82 
5.32 

12.20 
9.80 
10.81 
17.41 
9.68 
15.26 
12.15 
14.04 

2.10 
0.10 
0.12 
2.60 
0.00 
0.00 
1.30 
0.99 

10.10 
9.70 
10.69 
14.81 
9.68 
15.26 
10.85 
13.05 

Means  .  .  . 

13.95 

10.39 

3.56 

12.67 

0.90 

11.77 

In  the  winter  half-year  the  rainfall  varied  from 
11.30  inches  in  1837,  to  18.80  inches  in  1836,  a  differ- 
ence of  7.50  inches,  while  the  drainage  was  from  6.85  to 
15.55  inches,  a  difference  of  8.70  inches,  and  the  range 
in  evaporation  was  but  3.76  inches,  or  from  1.56  to  5.32 
inches.  The  average  rainfall  for  the  winter  half-year 
was  more  than  for  the  summer  half-year,  with  about  the 
same  range  of  variation.  In  the  summer  half-year  there 
was  but  little  drainage,  and  in  five  of  the  eight  years  the 
rainfall  and  evaporation  were  both  below  the  average, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  evaporation  was  limited  by 
the  deficient  supply  of  water  in  the  soil,  and  that  the 
water  exhaled  by  the  grass,  growing  on  the  gauge,  was 
likewise  diminished.  The  average  evaporation  for  the 
summer  half-year  is  about  the  same  as  from  a  bare  soil 
in  the  Rothamsted  experiments  (table  9),  and  the  aver- 
age rainfall  is  nearly  three  inches  less.  With  a  full  sup- 
ply of  water,  the  evaporation  from  the  soil  and  growing 
crop  should  have  been  considerably  more  than  the  aver- 


42  LAND   DRAINING. 

age  recorded  in  the  table.  In  the  three  years  of  highest 
rainfall,  evaporation  was  from  more  than  two,  to  nearly 
four,  inches  above  the  highest  amount  recorded  in  the 
five  years  of  deficient  rainfall. 

Mr.  0.  Greaves  made  drainage  experiments,  at  Lea 
Bridge,  near  London,  England,  for  several  years,  that 
are  of  particular  interest,  as  they  illustrate  the  marked 
difference  in  soils  in  retaining  water.  He  had  two  Dai- 
ton  gauges,  of  slate,  three  feet  square,  and  three  feet 
deep;  one  was  filled  with  sand,  and  "the  other  with  a 
mixture  of  soft  loam,  gravel  and  sand  trodden  in  and 
turfed."  Another  tank  three  feet  square  and  one  foot 
deep  was  used  to  measure  the  evaporation  from  a  water 
surface.  The  results  of  his  experiments  are  given  in 
table  7,  copied  in  a  modified  form  from  the  Rothamsted 
paper  on  "Rain  and  Drainage  Waters."* 

TABLE  7. 

AVERAGE  RESULTS  OF  EXPERIMENTS  IN  DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORA- 
TION FOR  FOURTEEN  YEARS  (1860-73)  BY  MR.  c.  GREAVES. 


Rainfall 
Inches. 

Drainage. 

Evaporation. 

Sand 
Inches. 

Turfed 
Soil 
Indies. 

Sand 
Inches. 

Turfed 
Soil 
Inches. 

Water 
Surface 
Inches. 

October  .  . 
November 
December 
January.  . 
February. 
March  

2.730 
2.021 
2.422 
2.870 
1.596 
1.936 

2.402 
1.963 
2.173 
2.734 
1.524 
1.605 

0.515 
0.833 
1.508 
2.029 
1.085 
0.879 

0.328 
0.058 
0.249 
0136 
0.072 
0.334 

2.215 
1.188 
0.914 
0.841 
0.511 
1.060 

1.056 
0.707 
0.574 
0.761 
0.603 
1.0f)5 

Totals,  h'lf-yr. 

12.401 

6.84'> 

1.177 

6.729     |       4.766 

April  
May  

1.428 
2.056 
2.205 
1.774 
2.332 
2.347 

1.117 
1.656 
1.572 
1.212 
1.783 
1.737 

0.275 
0.105 
0.156 
0.013 
0.113 
0.071 

0.311 
0.400 
0.633 
0.562 
0.549 
0.610 

1.153 
1.951 
2.049 
1.761 
2.219 
2.276 

2.0!»8 
2.753 
3.142 
3.443 
2.850 
1.606 

June  

July  

August   

September  — 

Totals,  h'lf-yr. 
Whole  year.  .  . 

12.142 

!>.077 

0.733 

3.065 

11.401) 

15.892 

25.717 

21.478     '       7T573~ 

4:242"  I^TSTTSS"  '~2o:658~ 

The  very  low  water-holding  power  of  the  sand  is 
shown  in  the  large  proportion  of  both  summer  and  win- 
ter rainfall  that  appears  as  drainage  water.  The  sum- 
mer evaporation  from  the  sand  averaged  but  3.065 


*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1881,  p.  325. 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION".  43 

inches,  while  the  turfed  soil  averaged  11.409  inches,  or 
nearly  four  times  as  much,  and  the  winter  evaporation 
from  the  sand  averaged  but  1.177  inches,  against  6.72J 
inches  from  the  turfed  soil,  or  more  than  four  times  as 
much.  With  an  average  annual  rainfall  of  25. 72  inches 
the  sand  evaporated,  on  the  average,  but  4.242  inches. 
"The  true  amount  of  evaporation  is  probably,  however, 
greater  than  this,  as  it  is  not  very  uncommon  for  the 
drainage  from  this  gauge  to  exceed  the  rainfall,  owing, 
as  Mr.  Greaves  supposes,  to  condensation  of  water 
directly  from  the  atmosphere.  This  excess  of  drainage 
over  rain  occurs  most  frequently  in  January  and 
February. 

"On  the  turfed  soil  the  amount  of  evaporation  from 
January  to  March  is  very  similar  to  that  observed  on  the 
bare  soil  at  Rothamsted ;  but  from  April  to  September 
— the  growing  season  of  the  grass — practically  no  drain- 
age takes  place,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  rainfall  being 
evaporated.  Drainage- water  was,  indeed,  collected  in 
July  and  August  only  on  two,  in  June  on  three,  and  in 
May  and  September  on  four,  occasions  during  the  four- 
teen years.  The  average  amounts  evaporated  from  the 
turf  during  summer,  winter,  and  the  whole  year, 
namely,  11.409,  6.729  and  18.138  inches,  are  very  sim- 
ilar to  those  noted  at  Rothamsted  (for  ten  years,  1870- 
1880) ;  they  are  so,  however,  simply  from  the  very  mod- 
erate amount  of  rainfall  supplied  to  the  soil.  In  the 
wet  summer  of  1860,  15.608  inches  were  evaporated  by 
the  turf  in  six  months  -,  ind  in  the  wet  season  of  1872, 
the  evaporation  during  twelve  months  reached  25.141 
inches.  There  is,  thus,  but  little  constancy  in  the  amount 
of  evaporation,  which  depends  largely  on  the  amount  of 
rainfall,  and  on  the  activity  of  vegetation.  With  a 
heavier  rainfall  we  should  doubtless  obtain  more  con- 
stant figures. 

'The  figures  representing  the  evaporation  from  a 
water  surface  are  full  of  interest.     The  average  summer 


44  LAND   DRAINING. 

evaporation  is  15,892  inches;  that  for  the  winter  4.766 
inches;  the  total  for  the  year  20.658  inches.  The 
amount  of  variation  is  considerable.  In  1862  the  annual 
evaporation  was  only  17.332  inches;  in  the  hot  season 
of  1868  it  reached  26,933  inches.  There  are  some  obvi- 
ous reasons  why  the  evaporation  from  a  water  surface 
should  be  more  variable  than  that  from  a  bare  soil.  On 
a  water  surface,  sunshine  and  wind  must  always  produce 
their  full  effect,  while  on  soil,  evaporation  receives  a 
check  as  soon  as  the  surface  is  dried.  Another  disturb- 
ing cause  in  Mr.  Greaves'  determinations  has  been  the 
variable  condensations  from  the  atmosphere,  making  the 
winter  evaporations  appear  lower  than  they  really  are."* 
The  draining  experiments  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  already 
described,  were  continued  by  Mr.  John  Evans,  with 
"two  Dalton  drain  gauges,  consisting  of  cast-iron  cylin- 
ders three  feet  in  depth  and  eighteen  inches  in  diameter ; 
one  is  filled  with  the  surface  soil  of  the  neighborhood, 
the  other  with  fragments  of  chalk ;  both  bear  a  growth 
of  grass."  These  experiments  are  summarized,  in  the 
Kothamsted  paper  quoted  above,  as  follows:  "Mr. 
Evans'  experiments  are  even  more  striking  examples  of 
the  disturbing  action  of  vegetation  than  those  of  Mr. 
Greaves.  The  average  rainfall  during  fifteen  years  has 
been  25.55  inches.  Throughout  this  period  the  absence 
of  drainage  from  the  turfed  soil,  during  the  summer 
months,  has  been  even  more  complete  than  in  Mr. 
Greaves'  experiments.  The  summer  drainage  from  the 
turfed  soil  has  averaged  0.35  inches,  the  evaporation 
12.12  inches.  The  winter  drainage  has  been  5.23  inches, 
the  evaporation  7.85  inches.  In  the  whole  drainage- 
year  the  average  drainage  has  been  5.38  inches,  the  evap- 
oration 19.97  inches.  The  summer  evaporation,  how- 
ever, actually  ranges  from  7.59  to  10.09  inches,  and  that 
of  the  whole  year  from  13.20  to  26.55  inches.  This 

~~*J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1881,  pp.  S25,  326. 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION.  45 

wide  range  in  the  amount  of  evaporation  is,  in  part,  due 
to  the  insufficient  supply  of  rain.  The  full  evaporating 
power  of  the  turf  has,  perhaps,  not  yet  been  shown,  the 
whole  of  the  rainfall  having  been  evaporated,  even  in 
the  wettest  summer  of  the  fifteen  years.  In  these  experi- 
ments the  distribution  of  the  rain  has  a  marked  effect 
on  the  amount  of  drainage.  Eainfalls  not  sufficiently 
heavy  to  penetrate  the  turf  are  probably  evaporated, 
while  those  passing  the  turf  appear,  more  or  less,  as 
drainage.  "In  the  percolator  filled  with  chalk  the 
average  annual  drainage  has  been  8.79  inches,  and  the 
evaporation  16.76  inches.  In  this  case  the  soil  would 
probably  be  less  compact,  and  the  growth  of  grass  less 
vigorous  than  in  the  percolator  filled  with  arable  soil ; 
the  drainage  is,  therefore,  naturally  larger,  and  the 
evaporation  less." 

The  Rothamsted  experiments  relating  to  drainage 
and  evaporation,  which  have  been  carried  on  under  defi- 
nite conditions  since  1870,  may  be  profitably  studied,  as 
they  furnish  the  most  satisfactory  data  for  tracing  the 
influence  of  excessive  rainfall  and  severe  drouths,  on 
the  final  disposition  of  soil  water.  The  drainage  exper- 
iments have  been  supplemented  with  investigations  of 
the  moisture  retained  by  soils  under  different  conditions 
of  cropping  and  rainfall,  and  the-  amount  of  water 
exhaled  by  plants  in  their  process  of  growth. 

In  1870  three  drain-gauges  were  made,*  each  having 
an  area  of  one-thousandth  of  an  acre  (72x87.12  inches), 
and  respectively  20,  40  and  60  inches  deep.  It  was  well 
known  that  soils  that  had  been  disturbed  could  not  be 
repacked,  so  that  their  normal  conditions,  or  relations, 
to  water  percolating  through  them  could  be  secured. 
This  defect  of  the  Dal  ton  gauges  was  obviated  in  the 
construction  of  the  Rothamsted  drain-gauges,  by  build- 
ing the  walls  of  the  gauges  of  bricks  and  cement  around 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1881,  p.  269. 


46 


LAND    DRAINING. 


the  mass  of  soil,  without  disturbing  it,  so  that  the 
gauges,  when  completed,  were  filled  with  soil  in  its  nat- 
ural condition.  The  surface  soil,  of  "somewhat  heavy 
loam,'7  had  been  cultivated  to  the  depth  of  eight  inches ; 
below  this  was  ten  inches  of  friable  clay,  followed  by  a 
subsoil  of  rather  stiff  clay.  "The  land  had  previously 
been  under  the  ordinary  arable  culture  of  the  farm." 
The  soil  of  the  gauges  was  "kept  bare  of  vegetation," 
and  represented  the  conditions  of  a  naked  fallow. 

TABLE  8. 

ROTHAMSTED  RAINFALL,  DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORATION.     MONTHLY 

AND  ANNUAL  AVERAGES  IN  INCHES,  AND  PERCENTAGE 

OF  RAINFALL. 


»»""»"•         [eSln^au^ll     Evaporation. 

Av.of  preceding  19 
,    vrs.  Sept.,  1851  to 
Aug.  1870. 

Averages  of  eighteen  years,  Sept.,  1870, 
to  Aug.,  1888. 

Indies. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Per  ct,  of 
rainfall. 

Inches. 

Per  ct.  of 

rainfall. 

October  
November  
December  
January  
February  
March  

3.05 
2.17 

1.88 
2.64 
1.50 
1.67 

3.33 
3.04 
2.50 
2.58 
2.11 
1.68 

1.73 

2.16 
1.97 
2.13 
1.54 
0.82 

51.95 
71.05 

78.80 
82.56 
72.99 
48.81 

1.60 

0.88 
0.53 
0.45 
0.57 
0.86 

48.05 
28.98 

21.20 
17.44 
27.01 
51.19 

Totals,  h'lf-yr. 

12.i)l 

2.16 
2.58 
2.82 
2.46 
2.95 

10.35 

67.91 

4.89 

32.09 

April  
May          

1.7o 
2.35 
2.45 
2.51 
2.70 
2.36 

0.75 
0.51 
0.66 
0.62 
0.63 
0.90 

33.48 
23.61 
25.58 
21.93 
2430 
30.51 

1.4') 
1.65 
1.92 
2.20 
1.86 
2.05 

76139 
74.42 
78.01 
76.61 

69.49 

July 

August  
September  .  .  . 

Annual  

14T3~ 

15.21 

4.04 

26*6 

TOT" 

27.04     |       30.45 

14.3J 

47:26 

16.06     1       5277T~ 

MNKTEENTH  DRAINAGE,  OR  HARVEST  YEAR,  Oct.,  1888,  to  Sept.,  1889. 

October         .  . 

1.09 
4.45 
1.69 
1.29 
1.95 
1.89 
12736" 

o.on 

3.44 
1.55 
0.90 
1.63 

0.83 

5.50 
77.30 
91.72 
69.77 
83.59 
43.92 

1.03 
1.01 
0.14 
0.39 
0.32 
1.06 

94.50 
22.70 
8.28 
30.25 
16.41 
56.08 

November  
December 

February 

Man-l,  

'1  citals.  h'lf-yr. 



68.04 

338 

31.96 

April  
Mav  

2.47 
5.00 
1.38 
5.67 
2.18 
2.44 

0.37 
3.08 
0.47 
2.48 
0.05 
0.71 

14.98 
61.60 

34.  (Mi 
43.74 

*>   •><) 

29^10 

2.10 
1.92 
0.91 
3.19 
2.13 
1.73 

85.02 
38.40 
65.94 

56.26 

117.71 
70.90 

June  

July  

August 

September  ... 

Totals,  n'll-vr  '       18.84 

TTHT" 

3^.00 

11.68 

=H= 

Year  i  31.10 

15.57     i       50JI6 

15.53 

UNIVERSITY 

DRAINAGE   AND    EVAPORATION. 

%^v^; 

The  average  results  obtained  with  these  gauges  for 
each  month  for  eighteen  years,  and  a  separate  record  for 
each  month  of  the  nineteenth  drainage,  or  harvest  year, 
are  given  in  table  8,  together  with  the  totals  in  half- 
yearly  periods,  and  the  annual  averages  and  percentages.* 

A  rain-gauge  of  the  same  area — one- thousandth 
of  an  acre — was  likewise  made  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Rothamsted  drain-gauges. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  average  annual  and  half- 
yearly  rainfall  of  the  eighteen  years  of  the  drainage 
experiments,  was  considerably  above  the  average  of  the 
preceding  nineteen  years,  as  recorded  in  the  first  column 
of  the  upper  half  of  the  table,  the  average  annual  excess 
being  over  three  inches.  As  in  the  experiments  of  Mr. 
Dickinson  and  Mr.  Greaves,  the  average  drainage  in  the 
six  summer  months  is  very  much  less  than  the  winter 
drainage,  but  these  averages  do  not  fully  represent  the 
real  differences  that  sometimes  occurred.  In  1887  there 
was  practically  no  drainage  in  the  months  of  July, 
August  and  September :  and  in  January,  1881,  Decem- 
ber, 1884,  January  and  February,  1886,  and  March,  1888, 
the  drainage  was  in  excess  of  the  rainfall,  and  in  other 
winter  months  the  drainage  was  "far  above  the  normal 
proportion  of  the  rainfall." 

The  difference  between  the  rainfall  and  the  drainage, 
in  all  of  the  tables,  is  assumed  to  represent  the  evapora- 
tion, but  it  will  be  seen  that,  if  the  preceding  period 
had  been  very  dry,  a  portion  of  the  rainfall  would  be 
retained  in  the  dry  soil,  and  the  figures  in  the  column 
headed  evaporation  would  therefore  represent  this 
retained  water,  and  the  evaporation  proper,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  estimated  evaporation,  would  be  too  high  for 
the  particular  period.  Notwithstanding  this  element  of 
error,  tending  to  exaggerate  the  evaporation  in  a  given 
period,  it  appears  that  the  estimated  evaporation  varies 
but  little,  as  compared  with  the  rainfall  and  drainage. 

*  Memoranda  ot  "Field  and  other  Experiments,"  June,  1890,  p.  9. 


48  LAND   DRAINING. 

On  the  average  for  eighteen  years,  the  rainfall  for 
the  six  summer  months  was  15.21  inches,  and  the  evap- 
oration 11.17  inches.  In  1888-9,  however,  the  rainfall 
of  the  summer  months  was  18.84  inches,  or  3.63  inches 
above  the  average,  and  the  drainage  was  7.16  inches,  or 
3.12  inches  above  the  average,  while  the  evaporation, 
which  must  have  been  favored  by  the  larger  supply  of 
water  in  the  soil,  was  but  11.68  inches,  or  only  half  an 
inch  above  the  average.  In  the  first,  or  winter  half,  of 
the  year,  the  rainfall  and  drainage  were  both  below  the 
average,  and  the  increased  rainfall  of  the  year  was  evi- 
dently owing  to  the  excessive  rains  of  May  and  July, 
that  were  more  than  twice  the  usual  amount,  resulting 
in  4.43  inches  of  drainage  above  the  average  for  the  two 
months,  with  an  increase  in  the  estimated  evaporation 
of  only  1.26  inches. 

Under  the  climatic  conditions  at  Rothamsted,  with 
a  mean  annual  temperature  of  about  48°,  and  a  mean 
temperature  of  61°  for  July  and  August,  the  estimated 
evaporation  from  a  bare  soil,  in  the  six  summer  months, 
appears  to  be  quite  uniformly  between  eleven  and  twelve 
inches,  while  the  annual  evaporation  is  about  sixteen 
inches.  The  amount  of  drainage,  therefore,  apparently 
depends,  in  the  main,  on  the  amount  of  rainfall  in 
excess  of  this  normal  demand  for  evaporation.  In  table 
9  the  results  for  each  year  and  half-year  are  given,  in 
which  the  relations  of  drainage  to  rainfall  will  be  more 
fully  illustrated.  For  convenience  of  reference  the  years 
are  arranged  in  order  according  to  the  amount  of  annual 
rainfall. 

The  wide  range  of  rainfall  from  22.94  inches  in 
1873-4,  to  42.72  inches  in  1878-9,  with  an  annual  aver- 
age of  30.63  inches,  shows  that  the  period  embraced  in 
the  table  included  seasons  of  extreme  drouth  and  of 
excessive  rainfall.  In  the  winter  months  the  rainfall 
varied  from  7.03  to  21.77  inches,  with  an  average  of 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION. 


49 


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50  LAND   DRAINING. 

15.09,  and  in  the  summer  months  the  range  was  from 
7.59  to  25.75  inches,  with  an  average  of  15.54  inches. 
The  drainage  for  the  year  varied  from  4.97  to  25.86 
inches,  with  an  average  of  14.65  inches;  the  winter 
drainage  varied  from  3.92  to  17.77  inches,  with  an  aver- 
age of  10.28  inches;  while  the  summer  drainage  ranged 
from  0.71  to  12.27  inches,  with  an  average  of  4.37  inches. 

The  figures  in  the  table  representing  evaporation 
are  obviously  incorrect  in  several  instances,  when  the 
rainfall  was  below  the  average.  For  example,  the  esti- 
mated evaporation  of  19.69  inches  in  1870-71,  is  undoubt- 
edly too  high,  as  the  drain-gauges  were  built  in  1870, 
and  the  blocks  of  earth  would  become  unusually  dry 
from  exposure,  by  the  trenches  which  were  dug  around 
them  for  the  construction  of  the  walls.  The  difference 
between  the  rainfall  and  drainage,  in  the  first  year  of 
the  experiment,  may  therefore  be  partly  accounted  for 
in  the  water  absorbed  by  the  soil  to  restore  its  normal 
amount  of  moisture,  and  it  could  not  all  be  fairly  reck- 
oned as  evaporation. 

Again,  the  two  years  in  which  the  annual  evapora- 
tion is  stated  to  be  considerably  below  the  average,  viz., 
11.96  inches  in  1886-87,  and  12.13  inches  in  1884-85, 
are  years  of  severe  summer  drouth,  with  abnormally  low 
evaporation  from  deficiency  of  soil  moisture.  Neglect- 
ing these  extremes,  as  exceptional  and  readily  explained, 
we  find  the  range  of  variation  in  the  annual  evaporation 
is  from  13.57  to  18.63  inches,  a  difference  of  5.0  inches, 
while  the  rainfall  varies  nearly  20  inches,  and  the  drain- 
age more  than  20  inches. 

Looking  at  the  summer  evaporation  as  the  most 
important,  we  find  that  the  summer  rainfall  was  more 
than  an  inch  below  the  average  in  the  years  1874,  '87,  '84, 
'72,  '85,  '73  and  '83,  the  evaporation,  according  to  the  table, 
ranging  from  6.88  to  12.50  inches.  In  three  of  these 
years  the  estimated  evaporation  is  probably  too  high, 


DHAINAGE    AND    EVAPORATION.  51 

from  a  neglect  of  soil  absorption  to  supply  the  deficiency 
from  preceding  drouths,  while  four  of  the  seven  years' 
evaporation  was  abnormally  low  from  a  deficiency  of 
water  in  the  soil  during  the  summer. 

In  the  remaining  twelve  years  of  the  table  the  rain- 
fall, averaging  17.53  inches  (two  inches  above  the  aver- 
age), varied  from  14.43  to  25.75  inches,  a  difference  of 
11.32  inches;  the  drainage  varied  from  3.14  to  12.27 
inches,  a  difference  of  9.13  inches,  and  the  evaporation 
from  10.99  to  13.48  inches,  a  difference  of  only  2.49 
inches,  while  the  average  summer  evaporation  for  these 
years  is  11.85  inches,  or  only  0.68  inches  above  the 
average  for  the  nineteen  years. 

This  agrees  with  the  conclusions  reached  in  remarks 
on  table  8,  that  the  evaporation  from  a  bare  soil  is  a 
comparatively  constant  quantity,  while  the  variations  in 
rainfall  are  accompanied  with  corresponding  variations 
in  drainage.  The  annual  and  half-yearly  averages  are 
not  materially  affected  by  any  corrections  we  can  make 
for  known  causes  of  error. 

In  the  United  States  there  is  a  wide  range  of  cli- 
mate, with  extended  areas  in  which  the  rainfall  and 
mean  summer  temperature  is  much  higher  than  where 
these  experiments  were  made,  and  the  results  obtained 
will  undoubtedly  be  modified  by  the  comparatively 
intense  climatic  conditions  that  prevail  here. 

In  the  United  States  census  report  of  1880  it  is 
stated  that  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  from  thirty^ 
five  to  fifty  inches,  where  62.7  per  cent,  of  the  wheat  is 
grown,  and  that  86.8  per  cent,  of  the  corn  is  grown 
with  an  average  rainfall  of  thirty  to  fifty  inches,  and 
63.4  per  cent,  where  it  is  from  thirty-five  to  forty-five 
inches. 

As  to  temperature,  more  than  87.1  per  cent,  of  the 
wheat  and  corn  are  grown  where  the  mean  July  temper- 
ature is  between  70°  and  80°,  and  38.9  per  cent,  of  the 


52  LAND   DRAINING. 

wheat,  and  54.8  per  cent,  of  the  corn,  are  grown  where 
the  July  mean  is  between  75°  and  80°.  The  extent  to 
which  these  conditions  of  abundant  rainfall  and  high 
summer  temperature  influence  the  relative  drainage  and 
evaporation  from  the  soil,  has  not  been  definitely  deter- 
mined, but  the  evidence  that  has  thus  far  been  obtained, 
seems  to  show  that  they  are  both  materially  increased. 

In  Mr.  Greaves'  experiments  (table  7),  the  evapora- 
tion from  a  water  surface  averaged  20. 66  inches  annually 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  At  Whitehaven,  in-  the 
extreme  northwest  of  England,  where  the  annual  rain- 
fall averages  45.25  inches,  and  there  are  more  cloudy 
days  than  in  the  vicinity  of  London,  the  annual  evapo- 
ration for  six  years  was  reported  to  average  30.03 
inches.*  In  a  paper  by  Hon.  George  Geddes,f  it  is 
stated,  on  the  authority  of  Dalton,  that  the  annual  evap- 
oration from  a  water  surface,  in  England,  is  44.43  inches, 
but  from  the  results  of  the  experiments  of  Mr.  Greaves, 
and  at  Whitehaven,  quoted  above,  this  is  probably 
too  high. 

According  to  the  estimates  of  Blodget,  the  annual 
evaporation  from  a  water  surface  is  twice  as  active  in 
the  United  States  as  in  England,  but  it  must  vary 
widely  in  different  localities.  It  is  said  to  be  fifty-six 
inches  at  Salem,  at  Cambridge,  and  at  Boston,  Mass., 
on  the  authority  of  several  individuals,  but  whether 
these  statements  are  based  on  experiments  at  the  three 
places,  or  are  estimates  from  the  same  data,  does  not 
appear.  It  would  be  remarkable  to  obtain  the  same 
exact  figures  in  experiments  on  evaporation,  at  three 
places,  even  in  the  same  vicinity.  The  average  rainfall 
at  Boston  is  about  forty-seven  inches. 

In  the  paper  by  Mr.  Geddes,  a  record  of  the  rain- 
fall and  evaporation  for  each  month  of  the  entire  year, 

*  Blodget's  Climatology  of  U.  S.,  p.  227. 

fN.  Y.  Agl.  Kept.,  1854,  p.  159.    Farm  Drainage,  by  French,  p.  73. 


DRAINAGE   AND   EVAPORATION. 


53 


at  Ogdensburgh,  by  Mr.  Coffin,  in  1838,  and  at  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  by  Mr.  Conkey,  in  1852,  is  of  particular  interest, 
from  the  close  agreement  in  the  evaporation,  under  wide 
differences  in  rainfall.  These  records  are  copied  in  full 
in  table  10,  with  the  months  in  different  order,  to  show 
the  seasonal  variations. 

TABLE  10. 

RAINFALL  AND  EVAPORATION  FROM  A  WATER  SURFACE.  OBSERVED 
AT  OGDENSBURG,  AND  SYRACUSE,  N.  Y. 


Ogdensb'g, 

N.  Y.,  1838. 

Syracuse, 

N.  Y.,  1852. 

Rain 
Inches. 

Evapor't'n 
Inches. 

Ram 
Inches. 

Evapor't'n 
Inches. 

January  

2.36 

1.652 

3.673 

0.665 

0  97 

0  817 

1  307 

1  489 

March 

1  18 

2  067 

3  234 

2  239 

October 

2  73 

3  948 

4  620 

3  022 

November    

2.07 

3.659 

4.354 

1.325 

December  

1.08 

1.146 

4.112 

1.863 

Winter  months,  or  h'lf-yr. 

TOD 

13.28!) 

21.300 

10.603 

April 

0  40 

1  625 

3  524 

3  421 

May.-. 

481 

7.100 

4491 

7  309 

3  57 

6  745 

3  773 

7  600 

July  

1.88 
2  55 

7.788 
5  415 

2.887 
2  724 

9.079 
6  854 

September  

1.01 

7.400 

2.774 

5.334 

Summer  nio's,  or  half-yr.. 

14.22 

36.073 

20.173 

39.597 

Totals  for  the  year  

24.61 

49.362 

41.473 

50.200 

It  is  remarkable  that  with  a  rainfall  for  the  year  of 
24.61  inches  in  1838,  at  Ogdensburgh,  and  of  41.47 
inches  in  1852,  at  Syracuse,  a  difference  of  16.86  inches, 
indicating  considerable  difference  in  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  two  seasons,  the  evaporation  for  the  year 
differs  but  0.84  of  an  inch. 

In  1838,  at  Ogdensburgh,  evaporation  from  a  water 
surface  was  24.75  inches  more  than  the  rainfall,  or  over 
twice  as  much,  and  January  and  February  were  the  only 
months  in  which  it  was  less  than  the  rainfall ;  while  the 
summer  evaporation  was  21.85  inches  in  excess  of  the 
rainfall. 

At  Syracuse,  in  1852,  the  evaporation  for  the  year 
was  but  8.73  inches  above  the  extraordinary  rainfall, 
while  the  summer  evaporation  was  19.42  inches  more 


54  LAND   DRAINING. 

than  the  rainfall.  On  comparing  the  colder  with  the 
warmer  months,  we  find,  in  both  years,  that  the  winter 
evaporation  is  much  less,  and  that  it  varies  more  from 
month  to  month  than  in  the  summer  season. 

Dr.  R.  C.  Kedzie,  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural 
College,  found  the  evaporation  from  a  water  surface, 
t'rom  March  15,  to  November  15,  1865,  was  30.85  inches, 
the  rainfall  being  24.35  inches,  or  6.5  inches  less  than 
the  evaporation.  These  observations  on  a  water  surface 
all  seem  to  indicate  that  evaporation  is  more  active  in 
this  country  than  in  England,  and  that  there  is  proba- 
bly, in  most  localities,  a  larger  amount  of  water  evapo- 
rated from  soils,  than  in  the  drainage  experiments  we 
have  examined.  Quite  a  number  of  drain-gauges  have 
been  made  in  this  country,  but  observations  have  not 
been  conducted  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  estab- 
lish any  principles  relating  to  drainage  and  soil  evapora- 
tion, under  our  peculiar  climatic  conditions,  and  general 
principles  appear  to  be  safer  guides  than  erratic  and 
imperfect  experiments. 

At  the  Geneva,  New  York,  experiment  station, 
three  drain-gauges,  a  little  more  than  twenty-five  inches 
square,  and  three  feet  deep,  were  made  by  inclosing  a 

TABLE  11. 
DRAINAGE  AND  EVAPORATION  AT  GENEVA,  N.  Y. 


Surface  condition  of   soil   of 
gauges. 

Drainage. 

Evaporation. 

Inches. 

Per  c.  of 

ruin  tall. 

Inches. 

IVr  c.  of 
rainfall. 
85.4 
70.7 
63.9 

No.  1.    Sod  
No.  2.    Bare  and  undisturbed. 
No.  3.     Bare  and  cultivated   .  . 

3.46 
6.95 
8.54 

14.6 
29.3 
36.1 

20.26 

Ki.77 
15.  in 

Mean  of  the  three  gauges  1         6.33 

26.6 

17.39     ' 

73.4 

soil  of  dark  clay  loam,  and  tenacious  subsoil,  in  its 
natural  condition.  The  natural  turf  was  allowed  to 
remain  on  one  of  the  gauges ;  another  was  kept  bare  of 
vegetation  ;  while  the  third  was  kept  bare,  and  frequently 
stirred  with  a  trowel  to  a  depth  of  one  inch,  during  the 


DRAINAGE    AND    EVAPORATION.  55 

open  season.  A  detailed  report  of  the  observations 
made  with  these  gauges  has  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  been 
published,  but  the  average  results  for  five  years  (1882-87) 
are  given  in  table  11,  the  average  annual  rainfall  for  the 
five  years  being  but  23,72  inches.* 

The  results  here  recorded  were  undoubtedly  modi- 
fied by  the  exceptional  seasons  embraced  in  the  period. 
The  annual  rainfall  at  Hobart  college,  Geneva,  one  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  station,  averaged,  for  twelve  years, 
29.91  inches,  so  that  the  average  of  23.72  inches  observed 
at  the  station  must  be  considered  as  decidedly  below  the 
normal.  Two-thirds  of  the  rain,  or  15.85  inches,  on  the 
average,  fell  in  the  summer  months,  the  average  for 
July  being  4.15  inches,  and  for  August  3.03  inches,  and 
yet  there  was,  practically,  no  drainage  in  either  of  these 
months,  and  but  1.17  inches  in  the  remaining  summer 
months,  and  in  1887  there  was  a  rainfall  of  6.37  inches 
in  July,  and  3.03  inches  in. August,  without  drainage 
from  the  gauge  with  sod.  The  mean  temperature  of 
April,  May,  June  and  July,  in  1885,  '86  and  '87,  was 
above  the  average  for  the  twelve  years  observed  at  Hobart 
college,  and  this  average  is  several  degrees  above  the 
mean  of  the  summer  months  at  Rothamsted,  and  yet 
the  evaporation  at  Geneva,  from  the  bare  soil,  was  but 
0.79  of  an  inch  for  the  entire  year,  and  0.96  of  an  inch 
for  the  summer  months,  above  th'e  average  at  Rotham- 
sted. In  two  of  the  five  years,  at  least,  at  Geneva,  the 
rainfall  of  the  three  warmest  months  must  have  beeti 
insufficient  to  supply  the  water  required  for  the  normal 
amount  of  evaporation.  Taking  all  of  these  facts 
together,  it  appears  probable  that  the  evaporation 
recorded  in  the  table,  representing  the  diiference  between 
t:ie  rainfall  and  drainage,  is  considerably  less  than  woul 
appear  with  a  more  abundant  rainfall. 


*6th  Ann.  N.  Y  Exp.  St.  Kept.,  1887,  p.  397. 


56 


LAND   DRAINING. 


The  larger  amount  of  drainage  from  gauge  No.  3, 
over  that  from  gauge  No.  2,  may  perhaps  be  attributed, 
in  part,  at  least,  to  an  absorption  of  moisture  from  the 
atmosphere,  by  the  more  porous  surface  of  the  soil  in 
gauge  No.  3,  and  it  is  likewise  probable  that  the  evapo- 
ration from  the  soil  was  not  actually  less  than  from 
gauge  No.  2.  The  influence  of  the  sod,  in  diminishing 
the  drainage  and  increasing  the  apparent  evaporation, 
will  also  be  noticed.  * 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS. 

The  leading  facts  and  inferences  from  the  experi- 
mental evidence,  relating  to  drainage  and  evaporation, 
that  has  been  presented,  may  be  summarized  as  follows  : 
The  amount  of  water  evaporated  from  the  soil,  in  a 
given  case,  will  depend  upon  a  variety  of  conditions,  the 
most  important  of  which,  in  their  relations  to  farm 
drainage,  are  the  uniform  abundance  of  the  soil  supply 
of  water,  the  mean  summer  temperature  and  relative 


*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  record  of  these  gauges  for  1889 
has  been  received.  The  rainfall  for  the  year  was  32.90  inches,  or  con- 
siderably above  the  average,  and  the  drainage  and  estimated  evapora- 
tion was  as  follows: 


Surface   condition  of  soil  of 
gauges. 

Drainage. 

Evaporation 

Inches. 

Per  c.  of 
rainfall. 

Inches. 

Per  c.  of 
rainfall. 

No  1     Sod         

12.38 
13.47 

14.40 

37.63 
41.55 
43.77 

20.52 
19.43 
18.50 

62.37 
58.45 
56.23 

No.  2.    Bare  and  undisturbed. 
No.  3.    Bare  and  cultivated  .  . 

Mean  of  the  three  gauges  

13.42 

40.79 

19.48 

59.21 

The  drainage  is  decidedly  increased,  and  the  evaporation  from  the 
bare  soil  gauges,  and  the  average  of  the  three  gauges  is  more  than  two 
inches  higher  than  the  five  year  averages  in  table  11  The  rainfall  in 
June  was  7.47  inches,  and  in  July  4.56  inches,  or  very  much  above  the 
normal  in  both  cases,  which  will,  in  part,  account  for  the  increase  in 
drainage.  If  the  unusual  rainfall  for  the  year  had  been  evenly  dis- 
tributed, a  larger  proportion  would  probably  have  been  disposed  of 
by  evaporation. 


DRAINAGE   AND    EVAPORATION.  57 

humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  the  capacity  of  the  soil  to 
absorb  and  hold  capillary  water,  and  the  luxuriance  of 
the  growing  crop. 

Evaporation  from  a  naked,  well  drained  soil  will  be 
less  than  from  the  same  soil,  on  which  crops  are  gro^v- 
ing,  and  a  still  larger  amount  will  be  taken  up  from  an 
exposed  water  surface,  or  from  a  water-logged  soil> 
under  conditions  otherwise  the  same.  In  a  given  local- 
ity, where  the  rainfall  is  not  absolutely  deficient,  or, 
approximately  stated,  does  not  fall  below  about  thirty 
inches  in  the  year,  the  average  evaporation  from  a  bare 
soil  remains  comparatively  constant,  while  the  drainage 
varies  widely  with  the  amount  of  rainfall. 

Under  the  climatic  conditions  in  England,  when 
the  rainfall  is  not  below  the  average,  the  results  of 
recorded  experiments  indicate  that  the  mean  .annual 
evaporation  from  a  well-drained  bare  soil  is  about  sixteen 
inches ;  from  a  soil  where  crops  are  growing,  at  least 
twenty  inches;  and  from  a  water  surface  ifc  may  be  esti- 
mated at  about  thirty  inches. 

In  the  grain-growing  area  of  the  United  States  the 
mean  annual  temperature  ranges  from  the  mean  in  Eng- 
land, to  over  16°  higher ;  and  the  mean  mid-summer 
temperature,  which  is,  of  course,  the  most  important  as 
a  factor  in  evaporation,  is  from  5°  to  24°  higher  than  in 
England.  From  the  comparatively  high  mid-summer 
temperature  of  the  grain-growing  States,  it  may  fairly 
be  assumed  that  the  average  evaporation  is  considerably 
above  that  observed  in  England,  and  the  experiments  on 
the  evaporation  from  a  water  surface  seem  to  indicate 
that  this  increase  may  amount  to  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
fifty  per  cent. 

In  the  absence  of  any  extended  experiments,  like 
those  at  Rothamsted,  we  can  only  make  approximate 
estimates  of  the  annual  evaporation,  under  different  con- 
ditions, in  our  comparatively  intense  climate.  From 


58  LAND   DRAINING. 

the  evidence  that  is  available  it  may,  however,  be  safe  to 
estimate  the  average  evaporation  from  a  well-drained 
bare  soil  at,  at  least,  twenty  inches ;  from  the  same  soil, 
with  a  growing  crop  of  average  luxuriance,  at  about 
twenty-four  inches ;  and  from  a  water  surface,  or  water- 
logged soil,  at  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  inches,  or  more. 
With  a  rainfall  considerably  below  thirty  inches,  the  soil 
evaporation  may  be  somewhat  less,  from  deficiency  of 
soil  moisture,  but  even  this  must  depend,  to  some 
extent,  upon  the  distribution  of  rain  throughout  the 
season,  and  the  amount  falling  in  single  showers,  or 
within  a  few  hours. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
ENERGY  IN  EVAPORATION. 

A  supply  of  energy  in  the  form  of  heat  has  already 
been  noticed  as  among  the  indispensable  conditions  of 
plant  growth,  and  we  now  have  to  consider  its  relations 
to  evaporation,  and  the  temperature  of  soils.  The  real 
significance  of  the  manifestations  of  energy  that  are  ever 
present  in  nature's  operations>  and  especially  in  the 
quiet,  unobtrusive  work  performed  in  the  growth  and 
nutritive  activities  of  plants  and  animals,  cannot  be  fully 
appreciated  without  making  a  quantitative  estimate  of 
the  constructive  forces  involved  in  these  familiar  pro- 
cesses. In  order  to  estimate,  with  an  approximate  degree 
of  accuracy,  the  energy  expended  in  these  organic  pro- 
cesses, it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  the  work  per- 
formed in  several  distinct  operations,  which  are,  never- 
theless, closely  correlated  in  producing  the  final  result. 

Evaporation  of  Soil  Water.  Water  is  evapo- 
rated from  all  soils,  more  or  less  rapidly,  and  to  a  greater 


ENERGY    IN   EVAPORATION.  59 

or  less  extent,  and  the  amount  so  disposed  of  will  vary 
widely  with  soil  and  atmospheric  conditions.  As  the 
transformation  of  water  into  vapor  involves  an  expendi- 
ture of  energy,  in  the  form  of  heat,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  growth 
of  farm  crops,  the  problem  of  its  control  and  utilization 
in  profitable  production,  as  far  as  it  can  be  made  avail- 
able, is  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  applications  of 
science  in  farm  economy. 

Energy  in  Evaporation.  The  amount  of  heat 
used  in  the  work  of  evaporating  soil-water  is  a  matter  of 
practical  interest,  and  it  will  be  convenient  to  havo  some 
simple  standard  by  which  it  can  be  approximately  meas- 
ured. As  the  "heat-units"  and  "foot-pounds,"  denned 
in  a  preceding  chapter,  are  not  familiar  standards  of 
measurement  to  many  of  our  readers,  another  standard 
will  be  used,  which,  although  not  as  definite,  is  suffi- 
ciently exact  for  all  practical  purposes. 

In  their  efforts  to  secure  the  strictest  economy  of 
fuel  in  steam  engines,  engineers  have  made  experiments 
to  determine  the  available  potential  energy  of  ccal,  and 
its  efficiency  in  evaporating  water  under  favorable  con- 
ditions. From  the  results  of  experiments  in  Europe 
and  America,  it  is  stated  that  one  pound  of  coal  will 
evaporate  from  6.73  to  8.66  pounds  of  water,  according 
to  the  quality  of  the  coal  used.  In  some  published 
tables  one  pound  of  coal  is  said  to  evaporate  from  7.58 
to  9.05  pounds  of  water,  but  these  figures  refer  to  water 
at  an  initial  temperature  of  212°,  and  the  results  are 
about  one-seventh  higher  than  with  water  at  the  freezing 
point.* 

In  the  absence  of  more  definite  data  we  may  assume 
that,  under  the  conditions  we  have  to  deal  with  in  agri- 
cultural processes,  one  pound  of  coal  will  evaporate  8.5 
pounds  of  water,  which  is  considerably  more  than  is 

*Ency.  Brit.,  9th  Ed.,  Vol.  VI,  p.  81,  IX,  p.  809. 


60  LAND   DRAINING. 

realized  in  ordinary  steam  engines.  With  this  standard 
of  measurement  we  will  now  estimate  approximately  the 
energy  expended  in  vaporizing  water  in  the  processes  of 
plant  growth. 

The  weight  of  a  cubic  foot  of  water  is  about  62.4 
pounds,  which  is  the  British  standard,  but  it  will,  of 
course,  vary  with  its  temperature  and  other  conditions. 
The  water  covering  an  area  of  one  acre,  one  inch  deep, 
will  therefore  weigh  about  226,500  pounds,  or  over  113 
tons,  and  the  energy  required  to  evaporate,  or  change  it 
to  vapor,  would  be  represented  by  more  than  thirteen 
tons  of  coal.  This  may,  however,  be  expressed  in 
another  form,  that  will  be  readily  understood.  We  are 
told  that  "a,  good  condensing  engine,  of  large  size,  sup- 
plied with  good  boilers,  consumes  two  pounds  of  coal 
per  horse  power  per  hour."  The  energy  expended  in 
evaporating  226.500  pounds  of  water,  or  one  inch  in 
depth  on  one  acre,  will  therefore  represent  the  work  of 
three  horses,  day  and  night,  with  undiminished  powers, 
for  six  months. 

Energy  in  Exhalation  of  Water  by  Plants. 
Our  standards  for  measuring  energy  are  applicable  alike 
in  estimating  the  energy  expended  in  the  exhalation  of 
water  by  plants,  or  in  evaporation  from  the  soil,  or  from 
a  water  surface,  as  the  energy  required  to  vaporize  the 
water  is  the  same  in  all  of  these  processes.  The  farmer 
is,  nevertheless,  interested  in  the  manner  in  which  this 
circulating  capital,  in  the  form  of  water,  is  disposed  of, 
as  he  is  directly  benefited  by  the  energy  expended  in 
the  exhalation  from  his  crops,  while  evaporation  from 
the  soil  may  be  indirectly  beneficial  under  favorable  con- 
ditions, or  positively  injurious  in  their  absence. 

The  water  exhaled  by  a  good  crop  of  Indian  corn 
we  have  already  estimated  at  about  960  tons  per  acre,  or 
the  equivalent  of  8.5  inches  of  rainfall.  According  to 
the  standard  we  have  adopted,  this  would  involve  an 


ENERGY   IN    EVAPORATION.  61 

expenditure  of  energy  represented  by  226,500  pounds  of 
coal,  or  over  113  tons  per  acre,  and  this  would  represent 
the  work  of  more  than  twenty-five  horses,  day  and  night, 
without  cessation,  for  six  months. 

Energy  Expended  in  Growing  Crops.  In  sum- 
ming up  the  results  of  the  drainage  and  evaporation 
experiments  under  discussion  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
the  conclusion  was  reached  that  in  the  grain-growing 
States  the  exhalation  from  a  crop,  and  the  evaporation 
from  the  soil  on  which  it  was  growing,  would  amount 
to  twenty-four  inches  in  depth  of  water  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  or  2,718  tons  per  acre,  and  that  a  very  large 
proportion  of  this  work  was  done  in  the  summer  months. 
To  vaporize  this  immense  quantity  of  water  involves  an 
expenditure  of  energy  represented  by  the  combustion  of 
320  tons  of  coal  per  acre,  or  the  work  of  seventy-three 
horses  day  and  night  for  six  months. 

Astonishing  as,  at  the  first  glance,  it  may  appear, 
this  estimate  of  the  enormous  expenditure  of  energy  in 
the  normal  processes  of  growing  crops  does  not,  how- 
ever, represent  the  whole  truth,  and  there  are  good  rea- 
sons for  believing  that  it  is  considerably  too  low.  In 
the  constructive  metabolism  of  plants,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, energy  is  expended  in  the  direct  work  of  building 
organic  substances,  and  the  amount  so  used  is  stored  up 
in  the  potential  form  as  an  essential  condition  of  their 
constitution,  and  that  it  reappears  as  heat  when  the 
plant  is  burned.  A  large,  but  variable,  amount  of 
energy  must  likewise  be  expended  in  warming  the  soil, 
to  provide  optimum  conditions  of  temperature  for  grow- 
ing crops. 

In  our  estimate  of  the  energy  expended  in  growing 
a  field  crop,  these  demands  for  energy  have  been  neg- 
lected, and  attention  has  been  exclusively  directed  to  the 
work  performed  in  vaporizing  the  water  evapomted  from 
the  soil,  and  exhaled  by  the  leaves  of  growing  plants. 


62  LAND    DRAINING. 

The  importance  of  both  of  these  processes  of  vapor- 
izing water  in  the  economies  of  vegetation,  and  the 
urgency  of  the  demands  for  energy  to  carry  them  on, 
should  be  fully  recognized.  The  water  exhaled  by  the 
leaves  of  plants  has  served  its  purpose  in  the  transporta- 
tion of  soluble  nutritive  materials,  and  must  be  disposed 
of,  and  replaced  by  fresh  supplies  taken  up  by  the  roots. 
The  activity  of  the  processes  of  nutrition  must,  there- 
fore, depend,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  the  constant 
absorption  of  water  by  the  roots,  and  its  final  exhalation 
by  the  leaves.  In  like  manner  the  evaporation  of  capil- 
lary water  from  the  soil  itself  cannot  be  looked  upon  as 
involving  a  waste  of  the  supplies  of  energy,  as  it  is  but 
a  phase  of  a  general  system  of  circulation  that  must  be 
maintained  in  all  productive  soils.  It  serves  a  useful 
purpose,  in  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  the 
soluble  soil  constituents,  which  are  brought  from  the 
lower  strata  towards  the  surface,  where  they  are  most 
needed  by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  it  likewise  promotes 
the  diffusion  of  the  atmosphere  through  the  porous  soil, 
where  its  constituents  are  made  available  in  the  processes 
of  soil  metabolism  and  plant  nutrition.  The  capillary 
water  of  fertile  soils  is,  in  fact,  kept  constantly  in 
motion,  as  its  equilibrium  is  disturbed  by  the  drafts 
made  upon  it  by  the  roots  of  growing  plants,  and  evapo- 
ration from  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  this  last  process 
appears  to  be  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  fertility. 

Energy  and  Soil  Temperatures.  We  have  seen 
that  a  certain  temperature  of  the  soil  must  be  secured 
for  growing  plants,  and  that,  according  to  the  experi- 
ments already  cited,  a  minimum  of  about  48°  and  an 
optimum  of  over  80°  is  required  by  our  leading  farm 
crops.  As  the  soil  is  not  warmed  by  the  energy  expended 
in  evaporation,  a  supply  in  excess  of  this  demand  is 
required  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  soil  from  the 
freezing  point,  in  our  northern  climate,  to  the  tempera- 


ENERGY   IN   EVAPORATION.  63 

ture  that  is  favorable  for  plant  growth.  In  growing  a 
crop,  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  of  food  sup- 
ply, energy,  in  the  form  of  heat,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  is  required  and  expended,  in  the  work  performed 
in  the  constructive  processes  of  the  plants,  in  the  exha- 
lation of  water  by  their  leaves,  in  evaporation  from  the 
surface  soil,  and  in  warming  the  soil,  and  a  failure  of 
the  supply  for  either  of  these  purposes  must  result  in 
diminished  productiveness.  To  the  estimate  already 
made  of  the  energy  expended  in  vaporizing  water  from 
soil  and  plants,  must  therefore  be  added  the  amount 
required  in  the  constructive  processes  of  nutrition,  and 
in  warming  the  soil,  which  cannot  as  readily  be  formu- 
lated, from  the  lack  of  experimental  data. 

Energy  and  Drainage  Water.  On  the  other 
hand,  all  water  in  the  soil  in  excess  of  what  is  required 
in  the  above-mentioned  normal  processes,  is  injurious, 
and  should  be  removed  by  drainage.  In  retentive, 
undrained  soils,  this  surplus  water  can  only  be  disposed 
of  by  evaporation,  and  we  will  try  to  estimate  the  prob- 
able expenditure  of  energy  involved  in  this  process. 

Admitting  the  approximate  correctness  of  the  esti- 
mate that  the  normal  beneficial  evaporation  and  exhala- 
tion from  a  well  drained  soil  and  a  growing  crop  amounts 
to  twenty-four  inches  of  water  annually,  it  follows  that 
with  an~  annual  rainfall  of  forty  inches,  which  is  not 
unusual  in  the  grain-growing  States,  there  would  be  six- 
teen inches  of  water  to  be  removed  from  the  soil  by 
drainage  or  evaporation,  to  secure  the  best  conditions 
for  a  growing  crop.  The  energy  required  to  evaporate 
this  mass  of  water  is  represented  by  two  hundred  and 
thirteen  tons  of  coal  per  acre,  or  the  work  of  forty-eight 
horses  day  and  night  for  six  months,  an  immense  amount 
of  useless  work  to  be  drawn  from,  or  interfere  with,  the 
supplies  of  energy  which  we  have  considered  essential 
factors  of  production.  In  many  localities  the  average 


64  LAND   DRAINING. 

annual  rainfall  is  more  than  forty  inches,  and  a  larger 
surplus  of  water  would  accordingly  need  to  be  removed 
by  drainage,  to  provide  suitable  conditions  for  growing 
luxuriant  crops. 

The  sun  -has  but  little  influence  in  warming  soils 
saturated  with  water,  especially  in  the  spring  months, 
as  the  available  energy  is  all  diverted  to  the  work  of 
evaporating  the  surplus  water,  which  might  be  removed 
by  draining.  This  diversion  of  energy  from  useful 
work,  the  value  of  which  we  have  estimated  in  tons  of 
coal  per  acre,  not  only  prevents  the  soil  from  gaining  a 
proper  temperature,  but  it  retards  or  checks  the  pro- 
cesses of  soil  metabolism  that  are  required  for  the  rapid 
elaboration  of  plant  food. 

Besides  this  practical  monopoly  of  the  sun's  heat, 
in  evaporating  drainage  water  from  the  soil,  heat  is  also 
abstracted  from  the  soil  itself,  so  that  evaporation  is,  in 
effect,  a  cooling  process.  Gisborne  says,  "the  evapora- 
tion of  one  pound  of  water  lowers  the  temperature  of 
one  hundred  pounds  of  soil  10°.  That  is  to  say,  that  if 
to  one  hundred  pounds  of  soil,  holding  all  the  water 
which  it  can  by  attraction  (capillary  water),  but  con- 
taining no  water  of  drainage,  is  added  one  pound  of 
water,  which  it  has  no  means  of  discharging,  except  by 
evaporation,  it  will,  by  the  time  that  it  has  so  discharged 
it,  be  10°  colder  than  it  would  have  been  if  it  had  the 
power  of  discharging  this  one  pound  by  filtration."* 

In  experiments  on  a  peat  bog  in  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, Mr.  Parkes  found  the  thermometer,  placed  seven 
inches  below  the  surface,  ranged  from  12°  to  19°  higher 
in  the  drained,  than  in  the  natural  bog,  for  several  days 
in  June,  and  on  the  mean  of  thirty-five  observations  in 
the  course  of  the  month,  it  was  10°  higher  in  the  drained 
bog.  In  observations  made  on  various  kinds  of  soil,  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  in  August,  with  the  thermometer 

*  Gisborne  on  Drainage,  p.  90. 


ENERGY   IN   EVAPORATION.  65 

at  from  72i°  to  77°  in  the  shade,  Sclmbler  found  the 
temperature  of  dry  soils  from  13°  to  14°  higher  than  the 
same  soils  when  wet.* 

It  should  be  noted,  in  this  connection,  that  the 
influence  of  draining,  on  the  temperature  of  soils,  is 
exceedingly  difficult  to  determine  by  direct  experiment, 
on  account  of  the  complexity  of  the  conditions  involved 
in  the  problem.  With  increased  temperature  of  a 
drained  soil  there  is,  at  the  same  time,  an  increase  in 
the  radiation  of  heat,  and  the  reading  of  the  thermom- 
eter, at  a  given  time,  will  not  represent  the  real  saving 
of  energy  in  the  form  of  heat  that  is  effected  by  thor- 
ough drainage. 

The  relations  of  evaporation  to  soil  temperatures 
and  certain  processes  of  plant  growth  have  thus  far  been 
considered  as  correlated  processes,  that  are  carried  on  in 
accordance  with  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy, 
which  is  now  generally  accepted  as  of  universal  applica- 
tion, and  the  practical  significance  of  these  transforma- 
tions of  energy  must  be  evident  from  the  facts  presented. 

Capacity  of  Soils  for  Heat.  Soils  differ  widely 
in  their  capacity  to  absorb  heat  of  low  intensity,  and 
likewise  in  the  facility  with  which  they  part  with  it  by 
radiation.  Schubler  heated  equal  bulks  of  several  kinds 
of  earth  to  a  temperature  of  144°  F.,  "and  observed,  in 
a  close  room  having  a  temperature  of  61°,  the  time 
which  they  respectively  required  to  cool  down  to  70°.  "  f 
Their  relative  capacity  for  heat  was  then  calculated, 
taking  as  a  standard  calcareous  sand  at  100.  The 
results  may  be  tabulated,  as  in  table  12. 

The  greater  power  of  sand  for  retaining  heat  will 
explain,  in  part,  "the  dryness  and  heat  of  sandy  dis- 
tricts in  summer."  It  will  be  noticed,  on  comparing 
tables  12  and  13,  that  the  soils  which  part  with  their 


*J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1840,  p.  204,  How  Crops  Feed,  p.  146. 
t  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1840,  p.  201,  How  Crops  Feed,  p.  194. 

5 


66  LAND   DRAINING. 

heat  most  rapidly  when  dry,  have  the  greatest  capacity 
for  absorbing  and  holding  capillary  water,  which  is 
probably  owing  to  the  greater  density  or  weight  of  the 
soils  that  cool  slowly. 

TABLE  12. 

RELATIVE  CAPACITY  OF  SOILS  FOR  HEAT,  AS  DETERMINED  BY 
SCHUBLER. 


• 

Kinds  of  Earth. 

Relative  power 
heat. 

Length  of  time  required  to 
cool  down  from  a  tempera- 
ture of  144°  to  70°,  with  a  sur- 
rounding temperature  of  61°. 

Calcareous  sand  
Siliceous  sand 

100.0 
95.6 

3  hours  30  minutes. 
3  hours  20  minutes. 

Sandy  clay  

76.9 
71  8 

2  hours  41  minutes. 

Arable  soil  
Stiff  clay,  a  brick  earth.  .  . 
Grey  pure  clay  

70.1 
68.4 
66.7 

2  hours  27  minutes. 
2  hours  24  minutes. 
2  hours  19  minutes. 

Garden  mold  

64.8 

2  hours  16  minutes. 

Humus  

49.0 

1  hour   43  minutes. 

In  discussing  soil  temperatures,  a  distinction  must 
be  made  between  heat  of  low  and  of  high  intensity,  as 
their  effects  are  quite  different.  The  dry  soils  that  cool 
most  rapidly  are  likewise  warmed  with  greater  rapidity 
when  exposed  to  heat  of  low  intensity,  as,  for  example, 
the  heat  radiated  to  the  soil  by  a  warm  atmosphere.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  sands  have  a  slight  advantage  in 
the  temperature  gained  by  heat  of  high  intensity,  like 
that  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 

As  water  has  a  greater  capacity  for  heat  than  soils, 
it  not  only  absorbs  the  heat  radiated  to  the  earth,  but 
appropriates  it  from  surrounding  objects  when  changed 
to  vapor.  Wet  soils  are,  therefore,  nearly  alike  in  their 
capacity  to  absorb  and  retain  heat,  and,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  they  are  not  readily  warmed. 

Radiant  Heat  and  Atmospheric  Moisture. 
Radiant  heat  is  an  important  factor  in  the  phenomena 
presented  in  the  immediate  environment  of  growing 
vegetation,  and  ordinary  thermometers  fail  to  indicate 
the  most  significant  transformations  of  energy  that  take 
place  under  the  prevailing  conditions.  A  full  discussion 


ENERGY   IN   EVAPORATION".  67 

of  its  relations  to  vegetable  imtritioD  would  be  out  of 
place  here,  but  attention  must  be  called  to  some  of  the 
known  facts  in  regard  to  its  behavior,  that  will  be  of 
assistance  in  gaining  correct  notions  of  the  philosophy 
of  thorough  drainage. 

Dry  air  is  not  readily  warmed,  and  it  is  therefore 
said  to  be  transparent  to  heat.  The  small  percentage  of 
the  vapor  of  water  diffused  through  the  atmosphere, 
more  abundant  near  the  earth,  and  diminishing  with 
the  elevation,  does,  however,  readily  absorb  heat  of  low 
intensity,  and  the  air  is  warmed  by  this  indirect  process. 
The  heat  of  high  intensity,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is 
emitted  by  the  sun,  is  not  intercepted,  to  any  extent,  by 
the  diffused  aqueous  vapor  of  the  atmosphere,  but  passes 
on  to  the  earth's  surface,  where  it  is  either  absorbed  or 
expended  in  the  work  of  evaporation. 

The  earth,  in  its  turn,  radiates  heat  of  low  inten- 
sity, which  is  readily  absorbed  by  the  vapor  of  water  in 
the  atmosphere,  and  increases  its  temperature.  And 
here  comes  in  one  of  the  compensating  processes  of 
nature  :  "The  vapor  which  absorbs  heat  thus  greedily, 
radiates  it  copiously,"  and  the  radiation  of  heat  of  low 
intensity  by  the  atmospheric  envelop  of  aqueous  vapor, 
furnishes  the  soil  with  a  supply  that  is  more  readily 
absorbed  than  that  received  from  the  direct  rays  from 
the  sun. 

Between  a  well-drained,  porous  soil,  and  its  atmos- 
pheric envelop  of  diffused  vapor,  there  is  a  constant 
interchange  of  energy  and  moisture,  the  two  factors  of 
paramount  importance  in  the  economy  of  plant  life.  In 
regard  to  the  significance  of  these  transformations  Pro- 
fessor Tyndall  says  :  "It  would  be  an  error  to  confound 
clouds  of  fog,  or  any  visible  mist,  with  the  vapor  of 
water  ;  this  vapor  is  a  perfectly  impalpable  gas,  diffused, 
even  on  the  clearest  days,  throughout  the  atmosphere. 
Compared  with  the  great  body  of  the  air,  the  aqueous 


68  LAND   DRAINING. 

vapor-  it  contains  is  of  almost  infinitesimal  amount, 
ninety-nine  and  one-half  out  of  every  one  hundred  parts 
of  the  atmosphere  being  composed  of  oxygen  and  nitro- 
gen. In  the  absence  of  experiment,  we  should  never 
think  of  ascribing  to  this  scant  and  varying  constituent 
any  important  influence  on  terrestrial  radiation;  and 
yet  its  influence  is  far  more  potent  than  that  of  the 
great  body  of  the  air.  To  say  that,  on  a  day  of  average 
humidity  in  England,  the  atmospheric  vapor  exerts  one 
hundred  times  the  action  of  the  air  itself,  would  cer- 
tainly be  an  understatement  of  the  fact. "  * 

"The  removal  for  a  single  summer  night,  of  the 
aqueous  vapor  from  the  atmosphere  which  covers  Eng- 
land, would  be  attended  by  the  destruction  of  every 
plant  which  a  freezing  temperature  could  kill.  In 
Sahara,  where  'the  soil  is  fire  and  the  wind  is  a  flame,' 
the  refrigeration  at  night  is  often  painful  to  bear."f 

"The  power  of  aqueous  vapor  seems  vast,  because 
that  of  the  air  with  which  it  is  compared  is  infinitesi- 
mal. Absolutely  considered,  however,  this  substance 
exercises  a  very  potent  action.  Probably  a  column  of 
ordinary  air  ten  feet  long  would  intercept  from  ten  to 
fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  heat  radiated  from  an  obscure 
source,  and  I  think  it  certain  that  the  larger  of  these 
numbers  fails  to  express  the  absorption  of  the  terrestrial 
rays  effected  within  ten  feet  of  the  earth's  surface.  This 
is  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  life  of  the  world. 
Imagine  the  superficial  molecules  of  the  earth  trembling 
with  the  motion  of  heat,  and  imparting  it  to  the  sur- 
rounding ether ;  this  motion  would  be  carried  rapidly 
away,  and  lost  forever  to  our  planet,  if  the  waves  of 
ether  had  nothing  but  the  air  to  contend  with  in  their 
outward  course.  But  the  aqueous  vapor  takes  up  the 
motion  of  the  ethereal  waves  and  becomes  thereby 

*Tyndall  on  Radiation,  p.  33. 
tHeat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion,  p.  405 


ENERGY   IN   EVAPORATION.  69 

heated,  thus  wrapping  the  earth  like  a  warm  garment, 
and  protecting  its  surface  from  the  deadly  chill  whicli 
it  would  otherwise  sustain."* 

This  variable  and  constantly  varying  envelop  of 
aqueous  vapor  diffused  through  the  atmosphere,  that 
serves  as  a  blanket  to  conserve  the  earth's  heat,  that 
would  otherwise  be  lost  by  radiation,  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  familiar  processes  taking  place  near  the 
earth's  surface,  and  in  the  less  readily  observed  changes 
carried  on  in  the  upper  strata  of  soils.  The  phenomena 
of  dew  and  frost  are  the  result  of  a  thinning  of  the 
atmospheric  vapor,  as  in  times  of  drouth,  and  thus  per- 
mitting an  escape  of  the  radiant  heat  from  the  earth's 
surface,  or  from  objects  on  it,  in  clear  nights,  and  the 
condensation  of  moisture  may  extend  to  the  upper  layers 
of  the  soil. 

Another  of  nature's  compensations  is  here  evident. 
Evaporation,  as  we  have  seen,  is  a  cooling  process,  and, 
conversely,  the  condensation  of  vapor  into  water  is  a 
heating  process.  The  energy  expended  in  evaporating, 
or  vaporizing  water,  is  liberated  as  heat  when  the  vapor 
is  again  transformed  into  water,  in  accordance  with  the 
law  of  conservation.  The  heat  radiated  from  the  earth, 
and  causing  condensation  on  the  cooled  bodies  it  leaves, 
is  therefore  offset,  in  part,  by  the  heat  liberated  in  the 
process  of  condensation,  and  a  check  is  thus  kept  on  the 
cooling  that  would  take  place  from  the  loss  of  heat  with- 
out compensation.  The  ameliorating  influences  of  drain- 
ing and  tillage  on  soils  are  intimately  connected  with, 
and  largely  dependent  on,  these  correlated  transfers  of 
energy  and  moisture,  that  are  brought  about  by  radiant 
heat  through  the  directing  agency  of  atmospheric  vapor. 

*  On  Radiation,  p.  34. 


CHAPTEE  V. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  DRAINING  RETENTIVE  SOILS. 

As  there  are  many  farms  that  do  not  need  draining, 
it  may  be  well  to  inquire  under  what  conditions  it  can 
be  profitably  practiced.  It  would  certainly  be  a  foolish 
expenditure  of  money  and  labor,  to  lay  drains  in  land 
that  has  a  permeable  subsoil  and  allows  the  free  perco- 
lation of  hydrostatic  water,  so  that  the  water  table  is  at 
least  four  feet  below  the  surface  in  wet  seasons,  or  after 
heavy  rains.  There  are  extensive  tracts  of  open,  porous 
soils  that  are  not  fertile  from  lack  of  power  to  retain 
capillary  water  in  sufficient  quantity  to  support  vegeta- 
tion, in  which  irrigation  rather  than  draining  is  indicated. 

Draining  can  only  be  recommended  when  there  is  a 
retentive  subsoil,  which  holds  the  drainage  water  for  a 
considerable  time  in  the  spring  and  fall  months,  o.  after- 
a  heavy  rainfall  in  the  growing  season.  It  will  at  once 
be  admitted  that  swamps  and  bogs  that  are  saturated 
with  water  for  several  months  in  the  year,  and  lands 
overflowed  by  springs,  need  draining,  but  on  high  lands 
there  are  less  obvious  indications  of  deficient  drainage, 
wlr'ch  the  intelligent  observer  will  not  fail  to  notice. 

Indications  that  High  Lands  Need  Draining. 
Where  water  stands  on  the  surface  after  heavy  showers, 
or  is  seen  in  the  furrows  when  plowing  in  the  spring, 
the  soil  will,  undoubtedly,  be  improved  by  draining. 
Even  where  water  does  not  show  itself  at  the  surface, 
the  dark  patches  of  soil  in  a  recently  plowed  field,  and 
the  growth  of  mosses,  or  molds,  and  aquatic  plants,  later 
in  the  season,  show  that  the  water  table  must  be  lowered 

70 


DRAINING   RETENTIVE    SOILS.  71 

to  provide  favorable  conditions  for  the  growth  of  upland 
plants  of  greater  economic  value.  The  accumulation  of 
water  in  trial  pits,  that  may  be  dug  to  the  depth  of  three 
or  four  feet,  in  wet  seasons,  is  another  indication  that  is 
quite  conclusive. 

The  indications  of  deficient  drainage  are  likewise 
manifest  in  time  of  drouth,  among  which  may  be  men- 
tioned, as  the  most  striking,  the  appearance  of  wide 
cracks  in  heavy  soils  that  have  been  saturated  with  water 
early  in  the  season,  and  then  dried  by  evaporation.  In 
such  soils  there  is  a  lack  of  porosity,  or  capillarity ;  the' 
roots  of  plants  are  not  well  developed,  from  the  absence 
of  suitable  conditions  for  their  distribution  throughout 
the  soil,  and  the  rolling  of  the  leaves  indicates  a  deficient 
supply  of  capillary  water  for  healthy  nutrition.  After 
copious  showers  the  plants  frequently  have  a  yellowish 
tinge,  from  defective  assimilation  arising  from  the  pres- 
ence of  hydrostatic  water  in  the  soil,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  season  the  crop  matures,  or  ripens  unevenly  in  the 
field.  Soil  metabolism  is  not  active ;  the  conditions  do 
not  favor  the  free  circulation  of  capillary  water  in  the 
soil,  or  vigorous  root  development,  and  the  crop  suffers 
from  the  check  given  to  its  general  processes  of  nutri- 
tion. In  contrast  with  these  unfavorable  conditions  for 
growing  crops,  we  may  summarize  some  of  the  benefits 
that  may  be  derived  from  a  judicious  system  of  farm 
drainage. 

Advantages  of  Draining  Retentive  Soils.  As 
the  surface  of  the  water  table  is  the  limit  of  the  healthy 
root  development  of  farm  crops,  one  of  the  most  obvious 
effects  of  draining  is  to  deepen  the  soil,  and  thus  fur- 
nish a  wider  range  for  these  important  agents  of  nutri- 
tion and  growth.  If  the  water  table  is  within  four  feet 
of  the  surface  of  the  soil  for  any  considerable  time  dur- 
ing the  growing  season,  it  must  materially  interfere 
with  the  development  and  distribution  of  the  roots  of 


72  LAND   DRAINING. 

most  of  our  farm  crops,  as,  under  favorable  conditions, 
they  penetrate  the  soil  to  greater  depths  than  the  limit 
mentioned,  which  may  be  considered  the  minimum  for 
profitable  production. 

Schubert  made  excavations  in  the  field  six  feet,  or 
more,  in  depth,  and  then  laid  bare  the  roots  of  plants 
by  gently  washing  the  soil  with  a  stream  of  water.  He 
found  that  rye,  beans  and  garden  peas  had  a  dense  mat 
of  fine  fibrous  roots  to  a  deptli  of  four  feet  from  the 
surface,  and  wheat  roots  were  traced  to  the  depth  of 
seven  feet  forty-seven  days  after  sowing,  while  other 
crops  had  roots  ranging  to  the  depth  of  three  or  four 
feet.*  A  greater  range  of  root  development  has  fre- 
quently been  reported  by  other  observers. 

There  are  numerous  indirect  advantages  of  thorough 
draining  which  should  not  be  overlooked.  On  well 
drained  land  the  rain  falling  upon  the  soil,  in  excess  of 
its  capacity  for  absorption,  or  the  demands  of  the  crop, 
percolates  downwards  to  the  level  of  the  drains,  warm- 
ing  the  soil  in  its  progress,  and  increasing  its  porosity, 
while  the  air  follows  the  descending  water  between  the 
particles  of  the  soil,  where  its  constituents  are  needed 
for  the  nutrition  of  the  plants,  and  in  the  processes  of 
soil  metabolism.  Next  to  carbon  we  find  oxygen  is  the 
most  abundant  element  in  the  composition  of  plants.  It 
is  freely  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  "deprived 
of  oxygen  the  movements  of  protoplasm,  the  movements 
of  the  roots  and  of  the  leaves  cease,  other  manifestations 
of  activity  are  put  a  stop  to,  and  the  plant  dies  of  suffo- 
cation. "  f  Atmospheric  nitrogen,  also,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  appropriated  by  micro-organisms  in  the  soil,  and 
made  available  as  combined  nitrogen  for  the  use  of 
plants.  The  free  admission  of  the  atmosphere  between 
the  particles  of  soils  is,  therefore,  important,  and  this 
can  only  be  secured  on  well  drained  land. 

*  How  Crops  Grow,  p.  264. 

t  Plant  Life  on  the  Farm,  p.  25. 


DRAINING   RETENTIVE    SOILS.  73 

When  the  hydrostatic  water  of  soils  is  discharged 
by  drainage,  instead  of  evaporation,  there  is  an  immense 
saving  of  energy  in  the  form  of  heat,  as  has  been  pointed 
out  in  a  preceding  chapter  (p.  63),  that  may  be  made 
available  for  other  purposes,  of  direct  advantage  to  the 
growing  crops.  The  enormous  amount  of  heat  saved 
from  useless  work  by  drainage  would  be  utilized  in 
warming  the  soil,  and  in  the  metabolic  processes  that 
are  essential  to  the  healthy,  luxuriant  growth. of  crops. 
Soil  metabolism  would  be  promoted,  the  micro-organ- 
isms concerned  in  the  disintegration  of  organic  matters 
in  the  soil,  and,  in  the  processes  of  nitrification,  would 
find  more  favorable  conditions  for  the  exercise  of .  their 
vital  activities,  plant  food  would  be  more  rapidly  elabo- 
rated, and  the  power  of  the  soil  to  hold  water  by  capil- 
lary attraction  in  the  form  best  suited  for  the  use  of 
growing  plants,  would  be  materially  increased.  The 
enhanced  porosity  of  the  soil  would  not  only  favor  bene- 
ficial metabolic  activities  in  the  soil  itself,  but,  from  the 
improved  biological  conditions,  the  roots  of  plants  would 
be  more  widely  distributed,  as  they  could  readily  pene- 
trate the  soil  in  all  directions,  so  that  its  entire  mass 
would  be  utilized. 

Heavy  soils,  when  saturated  with  water,  are  injured 
by  working,  or  by  the  treading  of  cattle,  as  the  process 
of  "puddling,"  as  it  is  technically  called,  takes  place 
and  renders  them  more  retentive  and  compact.  When 
the  water  absorbed  by  such  soils  is  removed  by  evapora- 
tion they  become  hard  and  tongh,  and  they  do  not  read- 
ily absorb  water  again,  or  allow  it  to  percolate  through 
them.  In  drying  they  shrink  and  crack,  to  the  injury 
of  the  feeble  roots  that  may  have  been  formed  near 
the  surface.  They  are  difficult  to  work,  from  their 
tenacity,  and  are  not  easily  pulverized,  so  that  thorough 
tillage,  or  the  preparation  of  a  good  seed  bed,  is  made 
impracticable,  These  " heavy"  soils  weigh  least, 


74  LAND   DRAINING. 

The  sum  of  the  ameliorating  effects  of  draining  such 
soils  is  to  lengthen  the  season,  as  they  can  then  be 
worked  earlier  in  the  spring  and  later  in  the  fall,  plants 
have  a  longer  period  of  active  growth,  and  a  thorough 
preparation  of  the  soil  for  seeding  can  be  secured,  with 
economy  and  increased  efficiency  in  the  labor  expended. 

Among  the  incidental  advantages  of  draining  we 
should  not  omit  to  notice  that  the  surface  soil  is  not 
washed  by  heavy  rains ;  and  water  furrows,  that  interfere 
with  cultivation  and  the  use  of  harvesting  machinery, 
may  be  dispensed  with  ;  that  crops  are  not  injured  by 
the  heaving  of  the  soil  by  frost ;  that  they  are  of  better 
quality,  and  ripen  evenly,  which  is  an  important  consid- 
eration in  harvesting.  It  is  only  on  well  drained  land 
that  manures  produce  their  full  effect,  either  as  supplies 
of  plant  food,  or  through  their  indirect  action  of  increas- 
ing soil  metabolism. 

There  are  retentive,  undrained  soils,  which  yield 
fair  crops  in  the  exceptional  seasons,  that  furnish  the 
most  favorable  conditions  of  temperature  and  distribu- 
tion of  rainfall  for  their  special  requirements,  while  in 
bad  seasons  the  total  failure  of  the  crop,  or  the  decidedly 
low  yield  in  ordinary  seasons,  tends  to  reduce  the  average 
below  the  point  of  profitable  production. 

Drainage  and  Drouths.  In  localities  where  the 
average  annual  rainfall  considerably  exceeds  the  amount 
required  by  crops,  drouths  are  liable  to  occur  from  an 
unequal  distribution  of  rain  throughout  the  year,  and 
an  absolute  deficiency  in  the  growing  season.  Tr.c 
influence  of  drainage  in  promoting  the  growth  of  crops 
in  time  of  drouth  should,  therefore,  receive  particular 
attention. 

On  well  drained  land,  of  fair  quality,  plants  have  a 
vigorous  habit  of  growth  that  enables  them  to  resist,  or 
overcome,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  injurious  influences 
which,  under  less  favorable  conditions,  would  be  mam- 


DRAINING    RETENTIVE    SOILS. 


75 


fest  from  a  scanty  supply  of  moisture  in  the  soil.  Their 
widely  extended  and  deep  range  of  root  distribution 
enables  them  to  appropriate  the  capillary  water  from  all 
parts  of  the  soil,  and  when  this  is  exhausted,  they  may 
even  take  up  a  considerable  portion  of  hygroscopic  water, 
which  is  less  readily  parted  with  by  the  particles  of  soil, 
and  which  less  vigorous  and  aggressive  plants  would  not 
be  likely  to  obtain.  The  soil  itself,  from  its  improved 
porosity,  will  bring  moisture  from  below  by  capillary 
attraction,  and  will  also  condense  it  from  the  atmos- 
phere, and  thus  add  to  the  aggregate  of  the  supply. 
The  results  of  experiments  relating  to  the  capacity  of 
soils  for  absorbing  and  holding  moisture,  and  the  extent 
to  which  it  may  be  appropriated  by  plants  will  be  of 
interest  in  this  connection. 

Amount  of  Capillary  Water  in  Soils.     Schub- 
ler  made  experiments  to  determine  the  capacity  of  soils 

TABLE  13. 

CAPILLARY  AND  HYGROSCOPIC  WATER  RETAINED  BY  SOILS. 
SCHUBLER'S  EXPERIMENTS.* 


Percent. 

Per  cent. 

Pounds  |Trmc  „„_ 
of  water  Tons  ?er 

Inches 

Kinds  of  Earth. 

of 
weight. 

of 
volume. 

in  1  cubic 
toot  of 
soil. 

depth  of 
4  feet. 

of 
rainfall. 

Silicious  sand  

25 

37.9 

27.3 

2,370 

21 

Calcareous  sand  

29 

441 

31.8 

2,770 

24 

40 

51.4 

38.8 

3,380 

30 

Loamy  clay  

50 

57.3 

41.4 

3,600 

31 

Stiff  or  brick  clay 

61 

62.9 

45.4 

3,950 

35 

Pure  grey  clay.  .  .   

70 

66.2 

48.3 

4,200 

37 

AVI  lite  pipe  clay 

87 

66.0 

47.4 

4,120 

36 

Humus  

181 

69.8 

50.1 

4,360 

38 

Garden  mold     

89    • 

67.3 

48.4 

4,210 

37 

52 

57.3 

40.8 

3,550 

31 

Slaty  marl  

34 

49.9 

35.6 

3,100 

27 

Gypsum  powder  

27 

38.2 

27.4 

for  retaining  capillary  and  hygroscopic  water,  by  sat- 
urating them  with  water,  and  then  allowing  them  to 
drain  until  the  hydrostatic  water  had  been  discharged, 
with  results  given  in  the  second  and  third  columns  of 
table  13,  on  which  are  based  the  estimates  of  the  last 
three  columns. 


*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1840,  p.  184. 


76  LAND    DRAINING. 

Before  commencing  these  experiments,  the  soils 
were  dried  at  a  temperature  of  144|°,  until  they  ceased 
to  lose  weight,  so  that  hygroscopic,  as  well  as  capillary, 
water,  was  parted  with.  The  water  absorbed  was,  there- 
fore, hygroscopic,  as  well  as  capillary.  Experiments 
like  these  can,  however,  give  only  approximate  results, 
as  the  same  soil,  in  different  degrees  of  fineness,  will 
vary  widely  in  its  capacity  to  absorb  water,  the  capillar- 
ity being  increased  as  the  size  of  the  particles  diminish. 

In  1878,  Dr.  R.  0.  Kedzie,  of  the  Michigan  Agri- 
cultural college,*  made  an  analysis  of  thirty-one  soils, 
from  different  localities  in  Michigan,  and  tested  their 
capacity  to  absorb  and  retain  capillary  water,  by  a  modi- 
fication of  Schubler's  method.  Two-thirds  of  these  soils, 
including  prairie  soils  and  heavy  clay  loams,  had  a 
capacity  for  absorbing  water  of  from  40.20  to  73.20  per 
cent.,  seven  of  them  ranging  above  50  per  cent.  ;  and 
one-third  of  them,  among  which  were  samples  of  the 
sandy  "plain  land"  in  the  northern  part  of  the  lower 
peninsula,  had  a  capacity  for  holding  from  29.20  to 
39.60  per  cent,  of  capillary  water.  Allowing  for  the 
difference  in  weight  of  these  soils,  one  acre  to  the  depth 
of  one  foot  may  be  estimated  to  weigh  from  three  to 
four  million  pounds,  according  to  the  relative  proportion 
of  sand,  clay  and  organic  matters  they  contained.  On 
this  basis,  the  capacity  of  these  soils  for  retaining  capil- 
lary water  to  the  depth  of  four  feet  would  be,  for  the 
first  group,  from  3,000  to  4,000  tons  per  acre,  and  for 
the  last  group,  from  2,300  to  3,100  tons  per  acre,  amounts 
that  are,  in  most  cases,  very  much  in  excess  of  the  prob- 
able requirements  of  a  crop. 

These  results,  by  Schubler's  method  of  determining 
the  capacity  of  soils  to  absorb  water,  even  in  the  modi- 
fied form  adopted  by  Kedzie,  are  probably  higher  than 
would  be  obtained  with  the  same  soils  in  their  natural 

*Mich.  Ag  Rep't.,  1878,  p.  386. 


DRAINING   RETENTIVE    SOILS  77 

condition  in  the  field,  and  they  may  be  interpreted  as 
representing  the  maximum  capacity  of  soils  for  holding 
water  under  the  best  possible  physical  conditions,,  that 
are  not  likely  to  be  realized,  even  with  well-drained  and 
thoroughly  cultivated  soils.  As  indications  of  the  wide 
margin  for  possible  improvement  in  the  capacity  of  soils 
for  moisture,  by  judicious  management  they  are  valu- 
able, and  they  should  lead  to  further  investigations 
relating  to  the  physical  properties  of  soils. 

In  1888,  Dr.  Kedzie  made  experiments  under  some- 
what different  conditions,  to  determine  the  capacity  of 
soils  to  absorb  and  hold  water,  which  were  suggested  by 
the  statement  that  was  widely  circulated  in  the  agricul- 
tural papers,  that  floods  were  increased  and  the  effects 
of  drouths  intensified  by  tile  draining  that  in  some 
localities  had  been  quite  extensively  practiced.  These 
experiments  were  made  with  tin  tubes  two  inches  in 
diameter  and  twenty  indies  deep,  that  were  weighed  in 
a  delicate  balance,  and  then  filled  with  air-dried,  sifted 
garden  and  other  soils,  to  which  water  was  added  until 
they  were  saturated  with  capillary  water.  Some  of  the 
tubes  had  a  tight  bottom,  to  secure  the  conditions  of  an 
undrained  soil,  and  others  had  a  perforated  bottom,  to 
secure  thorough  drainage.  By  weighing  the  tubes, 
under  the  different  conditions  of  the  experiment,  the 
amount  of  the  soil,  and  the  water  retained  by  it,  could 
be  readily  determined. 

He  found  that,  on  the  average,  36  inches  in  depth 
of  garden  soil  retained  12.5  inches  in  vertical  depth  of 
water,  which  would  be  equivalent  to  over  1,415  tons  per 
acre.  A  fact  of  still  greater  importance  was  likewise 
demonstrated.  When  this  drained  soil  was  thoroughly 
saturated  with  capillary  water,  "the  tubes  were  left, 
freely  exposed  to  the  air  in  a  room  well  ventilated,  for 
thirty-three  days  of  hot  drying  weather."  The  loss  of 
water  by  evaporation  from  the  drained  soil  was  nearly 


78  LAND   DE AIDING. 

two  inches  in  depth,  but,  on  adding  water  again  to  the 
soil,  it  was  found  that  its  capacity  for  holding  water  had 
increased,  as  it  retained  more  water  than  before  the 
period  of  evaporation,  while  the  imd rained  soil  had  a 
diminished  capacity  for  holding  water.  It  was  estimated, 
from  the  results  of  these  experiments,  that  the  drained 
soils  had  an  increased  capacity  for  holding  water  amount- 
ing to  about  12.6  per  cent.*  The  evaporation  of  water 
from  the  surface  of  well  drained  soils  has  already  been 
noticed,  as  serving  a  useful  purpose  in  various  ways,  and 
these  experiments  seem  to  indicate  that  increased  capil- 
larity, or  power  to  hold  water,  must  be  included  in  the 
sum  of  its  ameliorating  influences. 

Moisture  in  Cropped  and  Uncropped  Soils. 
As  growing  crops  exhale  large  quantities  of  water  in 
their  processes  of  nutrition,  the  experimental  evidence 
relating  to  the  influence  of  this  draft  of  water  upon  the 
retained  moisture  of  the  soil  will  be  found  suggestive. 
At  Rothamsted,  experiments  have  been  made  to  deter- 
mine the  amount  of  capillary  water  retained  in  cropped 
and  uncropped  sails  under  the  normal  conditions  of  field 
cultivation,  that  are  of  great  practical  interest  in  their 
bearing  on  the  supplies  of  water  available  for  crops  in 
time  of  severe  drouths. 

In  the  experiments  with  wheat  grown  continuously 
on  the  same  land,  under  different  conditions  of  manur- 
ing, and  with  a  tile  drain  through  the  middle  of  each 
plot  at  a  depth  of  about  thirty  inches,  "the  three  years 
of  highest  produce,  both  corn  (grain)  and  total  produce, 
were  1854,  1863  and  1864,  and  all  three  were  seasons  of 
less  than  the  average  fall  of  rain  during  the  four  months 
of  active  growth.  The  two  seasons  of  lowest  fall  of  rain 
during  April,  May,  June  and  July,  were  1868  and  1870  ; 
and  both  gave,  with  each  of  the  three  conditions  as  to 
manure,  more  than  the  average  of  corn  (grain)  over  the 

*Proc.  Soc.  for  the  Pr.  of  Agr'l  Science,  1888,  p.  49. 


DRAINING   RETENTIVE    SOILS. 


70 


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£  :  : 
So  :  : 

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1 

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6,794 
5,092 
6,016 

£     Barnyard 
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7,477 
6,627 
7^088 

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£     nure  and 
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straw.  1 

S  ^ 

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I 

80  LAND   DRAINING. 

nineteen  years ;  and  in  1808,  though  not  in  1870,  there 
was  even  more  than  the  average  of  total  produce  also, 
under  each  of  the  manured  conditions."*  With  the 
great  deficiency  of  rain  in  the  growing  season,  the  yield 
of  grain  was  above,  and  that  of  the  straw  and  total  pro- 
duce was  below,  the  average  in  both  years  on  the  imma- 
nured  plot.  For  convenience  of  reference  in  discussing 
the  water  supply  of  crops  in  time  of  drouth,  the  yield  of 
wheat  for  these  years,  and  the  averages  for  nineteen 
years,  are  given  in  table  14,  together  with  the  rainfall 
for  the  growing  months. 

"  Such  were  the  drouth  and  heat  of  May,  June  and 
July,  1868,  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  suppose  condi- 
tions more  calculated  to  induce  extreme  dryness  of  soil 
than  those  preceding  the  harvest  of  that  year.  Accord- 
ingly, toward  the  end  of  July,  just  before  the  crop  was 
ripe,  samples  of  soil  were  taken  from  three  plots  of  the 
experimental  wheat-field,  with  the  special  view  of  deter- 
mining the  amount  of  moisture  retained  at  different 
depths.  For  comparison  with  these  samples,  taken  at  a 
time  of  extreme  dryness,  others  were  collected  from  the 
same  plots  in  January,  1869,  after  much  rain  during  the 
preceding  ten  days ;  the  drains  were  running,  and  it 
was  supposed  that  the  ground  was  quite  saturated."! 
The  samples  were  six  inches  square,  and  three  inches 
deep,  "down  to  a  total  depth  of  thirty-six  inches,  or, 
rather,  below  the  pipe  drains."  The  results  of  their 
investigations  are  given  in  table  15. 

In  the  July  sample  of  the  first  three  inches  from 
the  unmanured  plot  there  was  considerably  less  moisture 
than  in  either  of  the  other  plots,  which  may  be  attrib- 
uted to  more  active  surface  evaporation  from  the  less 
dense  shade  of  its  smaller  crop,  and  the  inferior  capacity 
of  the  soil  for  holding  water.  In  the  next  nine  inches 

~~*J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1871,  p.  107. 
tJ.R.Ag  Soc.,  1871,  p.  108. 


DRAINING   RETENTIVE    SOILS. 


81 


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w  a 


32  LAND  DRAINING. 

of  soil  (the  average  percentage  of  moisture  hi  samples 
2,  3  and  4,  from  the  three  plots,  being  respectively  8.92, 
7.51  and  7.06)  there  is  the  least  moisture  in  the  mineral 
manure  plot,  the  barnyard  manure  plot  has  nearly  one- 
half  per  cent,  more,  and  the  unman ured  plot  has  the 
highest,  as  might  be  expected,  from  the  smaller  amount 
of  water  exhaled  by  its  small  crop.  From  this  point 
downwards  there  is  a  gradual  increase  in  the  percentage 
of  moisture  in  all  of  the  plots.  With  the  exception  of 
the  first  and  last  samples  of  three  inches,  the  barnyard 
manure  plot  had  decidedly  less  water  at  every  level  than 
the  unmannred  plot,  and  it  must  have  exhaled  very 
much  more  water  in  its  larger  crop,  and,  therefore, 
pumped  the  soil  drier  than  the  small  crop  of  the  unma- 
nured  plot. 

When  we  come  to  compare  the  barnyard  manure 
and  the  mineral  manure  plots,  there  is,  however,  evi- 
dence of  some  other  condition  than  the  exhalation  of 
water  by  the  crops  that  determined  the  relative  amounts 
of  soil  moisture  in  the  dry  summer.  The  crop  of  the 
mineral  manure  plot  was  considerably  larger,  and  there- 
fore exhaled  more  water  than  that  of  the  barnyard 
manure  plot,  but  below  the  depth  ot  nine  inches  the 
samples  of  the  latter,  in  every  case,  contained  less  moist- 
ure than  the  former,  that  had  parted  with  more  water. 
The  only  apparent  explanation  of  this  difference  is  the 
probable  better  condition  of  capillarity  in  the  soil  of  the 
mineral  manure  plot  which  enabled  it  to  bring  larger 
supplies  of  water  from  the  lower  strata  of  the  soil. 

In  the  winter,  after  heavy  rains,  we  find  the  unma- 
nured  plot  had  a  comparatively  limited  capacity  for 
holding  water.  The  barnyard  manure  plot,  with  its 
abundant  stores  of  organic  matter,  contains  very  much 
more  water  in  the  first  nine  inches  of  soil  than  either  of 
the  other  plots,  but  below  this  the  mineral  manure  plot, 
at  every  level  (with  a  single  exception),  holds  consider- 


DRAINING    RETENTIVE    SOILS.  83 

ably  more.  The  barnyard  manure  plot,  on  the  whole, 
has  the  greatest  capacity  for  holding  water,  especially  in 
the  cultivated  and  manured  strata  near  the  surface ; 
while  the  mineral  manure  plot  was  probably  less  reten- 
tive near  the  surface,  and  allowed  the  rain  falling  on 
the  soil  to  gravitate  more  rapidly  to  the  lower  strata, 
and  this  same  condition  of  porosity  may  have  facilitated 
the  appropriation  of  moisture  from  below  in  the  dry 
season. 

In  regard  to  the  greater  capacity  of  the  barnyard 
manure  plot  to  retain  water,  it  is  remarked  by  Drs. 
Lawes  and  Gilbert,  in  their  paper  on  the  drouth  of 
1870,*  "that  while  the  pipe-drains  from  every  one  of 
the  other  plots  in  the  experimental  wheat-field  run 
freely,  perhaps,  on  the  average,  four  or  five  times  annu- 
ally, the  drain  from  the  dungei  plot  seldom  runs  at  all 
more  than  once  a  year;  in. lee J,  it  has  not,  with  cer- 
tainty, been  known  to  run,  though  closely  watched, 
since  about  this  time  last  yoar."  The  capacity  for 
holding  water  does  not,  therefore,  seem  to  depend  solely 
upon  the  capillarity,  but  rather  upon  the  combined 
influence  of  capillarity  and  the  accumulation  of  hygro- 
scopic organic  substances  in  the  soil.  In  this  latter  con- 
dition the  mineral  manure  plot  seems  to  have  been 
deficient. 

The  aggregate  differences  of  the  three  plots  will  be 
best  seen  when  the  contained  water  is  estimated  in  tons 
per  acre.  In  table  16  the  long  English  tons  have  been 
reduced  to  tons  of  2,000  pounds,  and  the  estimated 
amount  of  water  exhaled  by  the  three  crops  is  given  in 
tons  per  acre,  and  their  equivalent  in  inches  of  rainfall, 
together  with  the  yield  of  grain  in  bushels  per  acre. 

In  the  third  and  fourth  columns  of  the  table  the 
water  exhaled  by  the  crops  is  estimated  on  the  supposi- 


*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.   1871,  p.  115. 


84 


LAND   DRAINING. 


tion  that  85.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  produce  was  dry 
substance,  and  that  three  hundred  pounds  of  water  was 
exhaled  for  each  pound  of  dry  substance  formed  and 

TABLE  16. 

TONS  OF  WATER  PER  ACRE  IN  THE  SOIL  OF  THREE  OF  THE  EXPERI- 
MENTAL WHEAT-PLOTS  AT  ROTHAMSTED,  IN  SUMMER  AND 
WINTER,  WITH  YIELD,  AND  ESTIMATED  EXHA- 
LATION BY  THE  CROPS. 


Plots  and 
manures. 

Yield  of 
grain    in 
bu.  pei- 
acre. 

Water  exhaled  by 
crop  per  acre. 

Tons  of  water  per  acre  in 
soil  to  depth  of  36  inches. 

Tons. 

Inches. 

July,  '68 
in 
drouth. 

Jan.,  '(;i), 
after- 
heavy 
rains. 

Differ- 
ence. 

Unmanured  .. 
Barnyard  ma- 
mire  ... 

16.62 
42.12 
44.91 

260 
871 
959 

2.30 
7.70 
8.49 

746 

662 

777 

1,564 
1,803 

i  ,7:;r> 

818 
1,141 
958 

Min'l  manures 
and  am.  salts 

MANURED  PLOTS  OVER  (or  under)  UNMANURED  PLOT 


Barnyard  ma- 
nure   
Min.  manure  & 
ammonia  salts 

25.50 
28.29 

611 
699 

5.44              -84 
6.19      II         31 

239 
171 

323 
140 

stored  in  the  crop.  From  this  estimate,  which  must  be 
approximately  correct,  it  appears  that  the  difference  in 
the  amount  of  water  in  the  soil  in  July  and  January 
was  sufficient  to  supply  the  amount  exhaled  by  the  crops 
of  the  unmanured  and  barnyard  manure  plots,  and  leave 
a  fair  margin  for  soil  evaporation;  but  in  the  case  of 
the  mineral  manure  plot  the  water  exhaled  by  the  crop 
is  equal  to  the  difference  in  the  soil  water  at  the  two 
periods  of  sampling,  leaving  nothing  for  soil  evaporation, 
which  must  have  been  considerable.  The  3.66  inches 
of  rain  falling  in  the  course  of  the  four  growing  months 
(see  table  14),  would  aid  in  restoring  the  balance,  but 
this  would,  probably,  not  be  equal  to  the  evaporation 
from  the  soil  itself.  Moreover,  the  indications  are  that 
the  soil,  at  the  beginning  of  the  growing  period,  did  not 
contain  as  much  water  as  when  it  was  sampled  in  Janu- 
ary. If  we  accept  the  estimate  of  Drs.  Lawes  and  Gil- 
bert, that  it  contained -only  two-thirds  as  much,  the 


DRAINING    RETENTIVE    SOILS.  85 

supply  would  be  sufficient  for  the  crop  of  the  unmanured 
plot,  while  the  remaining  two  plots  must  have  drawn 
upon  supplies  by  condensation  from  the  atmosphere, 
and  by  capillary  attraction  from  the  lower  strata  of  the 
soil,  and  the  amount  required  by  the  mineral  manure 
plot  must  have  beeu  quite  large. 

In  the  Rothamsted  experiments,  "a  great  deficiency 
of  rain,"  during  the  period  of  active  growth,  was  found 
to  be  "more  adverse  to  the  spring-grown  barley  than  to 
the  winter-sown  wheat,"  and  yet  more  than  average 
crops  of  grain  were  grown  in  seasons  of  drouth,  while 
the  lighter  yield  of  straw  would  reduce  the  amount  of 
total  produce.  In  the  unusually  dry  season  of  1870,  the 
yield  of  barley  on  the  barnyard  manure  plot,  where  it 
had  been  grown  continuously  for  nineteen  years,  was 
52%  bushels  of  grain,  and  4,949  pounds  of  total  produce, 
while  the  average  for  nineteen  years  was  50£  bushels  of 
grain,  and  5,856  pounds  of  total  produce. 

In  1870,  barley  was  grown  in  the  field  where  the 
drain-gauges  were  made,  as  described  on  page  45  (the 
first  records  of  which  were  made  in  September,  see  tables 
8  and  9).  "As  the  excavations  proceeded,  barley  roots 
were  observed  to  have  extended  to  a  depth  of  between 
four  and  five  feet,  and  the  clayey  subsoil  appeared  to  be 
much  more  disintegrated,  and  much  drier,  where  the 
roots  had  penetrated,  than  where  they  had  not.  Accord- 
ingly, it  was  decided  to  make  careful  notes  on  the  sec- 
tions under  the  two  conditions,  and  also  to  take  samples 
of  soil  and  subsoil  to  a  depth  below  that  at  which  roots 
were  traced,  with  a  view  to  the  determination  of  the 
amounts  of  moisture  at  the  different  depths  in  the  two 
cases.  Portions  of  the  barley  ground  and  the  fallow 
ground  closely  adjoining  the  drain -gauge  plots,  but 
undisturbed  by  the  excavations  in  connection  with  them, 
were  selected,  and  from  each,  six  samples  6x6  inches 
superficies,  by  9  inches  deep— that  is,  in  all,  to  a  depth 


86 


LAND    DRAINING. 


of  54  inches — were  taken,"  on  the  27th  and  28th  of 
June.*     These  were  carefully  dried  and  weighed. 

The  percentage  of  moisture  in  the  different  samples 
is  given  in  table  17,  together  with  the  mean  for  the 
entire  depth  of  54  inches,  and  the  mean  of  the  tirst  36 
inches,  for  comparison  with  the  wheat  soil  in  table  15. 

TABLE  17. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  MOISTURE,  AT  DIFFERENT  DEPTHS,  IN  CROPPED 
AND  UNCROPPED  LAND,  AT  ROTHAMSTED,  JUNE  27  AND  28,  1870. 


Depth  of  Sample. 

Fallow  land. 

Bill-ley  hind. 

Difference. 

First  9  inches  
Second  9  inches  

20.36 
29  63 

11.91 
1932 

8.45 
10  21 

Third  9  inches  

34  84 

22  83 

12  01 

Fourth  9  inches 

34  32 

25  09 

9  23 

Fifth  9  inches  

31  31 

26  98 

4  33 

Sixth  9  inches  

33.55 

26.38 

7.17 

Mean  to  depth  of  54  inches  .  .  . 
Mean  to  depth  of  36  inches  .  .  . 

30.65 
29.76 

22.09 
19.79 

8.56 
9.97 

For  the  rainfall  of  the  three  preceding  months  see 
table  14.  "It  should  be  stated  that  ten  days  previous 
to  the  collection  of  the  samples,  about  two-thirds  of  an 
inch  of  rain  had  fallen,  and  only  three  days  before  the 
collection  about  one-tenth  of  an  inch ;  and  hence,  per- 
haps, may  in  part  be  accounted  for  the  somewhat  high 
percentage  of  moisture  in  both  soils  near  the  surface  at 
that  period  of  a  season  which  was,  upon  the  whole,  one 
of  unusual  drouth.  Further,  for  a  few  days,  during  the 
interval  since  the  heavier  rainfall,  some  soil,  thrown  out 
from  the  excavations  near,  had  laid  upon  the  spot 
whence  the  samples  from  the  uncropped  land  were  taken, 
and  hence,  again,  may  be  accounted  for  part  of  the 
excess  near  the  surface  in  the  uncropped  as  compared 
with  the  cropped  land." 

There  is  not  only  a  marked  difference  in  the  per- 
centages of  moisture  in  the  fallow  and  the  barley  hind, 
but  in  this  time  of  drouth  the  fallow  soil,  to  the  depth 
of  three  feet,  contained  a  higher  percentage  of  moisture 
than  either  of  the  wheat-plots,  to  the  same  depth,  after 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1871.  p.  120. 


DRAINING    RETENTIVE    SOILS. 


87 


the  heavy  rains  of  January,  and  the  barley  soil  contained 
nearly  as  much  as  the  immanured  wheat  plot  in  January. 
The  significance  of  these  relations  will  best  be  seen  by 
estimating  the  soil  moisture  in  tons  per  acre  and  inches 
of  rainfall. 

TABLE  18. 

TONS  PER  ACKE  OF  CAPILLARY   WATER  IN  FALLOW  AND  BARLEY 

LAND,  AND  THEIR  EQUIVALENT  IN  INCHES  OF  RAINFALL 

AT  ROTHAMSTED,  JUNE,  1870. 


Fallow  land. 

Barlej 

Tons 
per 
acre. 

'  land. 
Indies 
of 
rainf'l. 

Difference. 

Tons 
per 
acre. 

Inches 
of 
rainf'l. 

Tons. 

Inches. 

To  depth  of  54  inches  
To  depth  of  36  inches  

3,220 

2,084 

28.50 
18.44 

2,185 
1,304 

19.34 
11.54 

l,03a 

780 

9.15 

6.90. 

If  a  liberal  allowance  is  made  for  the  possible  check 
to  evaporation  from  the  fallow  land,  by  the  soil  laying 
upon  it  for  a  few  days  previous  to  the  time  of  sampling, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made,  there  is  a  difference 
in  the  two  samples  of  soil  of  about  1,000  tons  of  water 
per  acre,  to  the  depth  of  54  inches,  and  over  750  tons, 
to  the  depth  of  36  inches,  which  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  the  exhalation  of  water  by  the  crop,  as  the  evapo- 
ration from  the  shaded  soil  of  the  barley  land  must  have 
been  decidedly  less  than  from  the  bare  soil  of  the  fallow. 

The  dry  substance  of  the  crop  was  estimated  at 
"under,  rather  than  over,"  4,480  pounds  per  acre,  and 
the  indications  are  that  the  crop  exhaled  more  than  300 
pounds  of  water  for  each  pound  of  dry  substance  formed 
by  the  plants,  which  would  amount  to  but  672  tons  per 
acre,  or  considerably  less  than  the  observed  difference  in 
the  water  of  the  two  soils  to  the  depth  of  only  36  inches. 
It  might,  however,  be  assumed  that  the  condensation  of 
\v:itcT  from  the  atmosphere  ^\as  more  active  on  the  bare 
soil  of  the  fallow,  than  on  the  protected  barley  soil, 
Avhcn  radiation  from  the  soil  at  night  would  be  inter- 
cepted by  the  shield  of  vegetation,  and  the  cooling  of 
the  soil  and  consequent  condensation  would  be  dimin- 


88  LAND   DRAINING. 

ished.  These  soils  evidently  had  a  greater  capacity  for 
storing  water  than  the  wheat  soils,  as  will  be  seen,  on 
comparing  the  amount  of  water  in  the  fallow  land  in 
time  of  severe  drouth,  with  that  of  the  experimental 
wheat  plots  (table  16),  after  copious  rains  in  January, 
and  they  are  nearly  equal  to  the  best  Michigan  soils 
tested  by  Kedzie,  and  the  arable  soil  of  Schubler's 
experiments. 

Absorption  of  Atmospheric  Moisture  by  Soils. 
Soils  are,  more  or  less,  hygroscopic,  and  from  this  prop- 
erty, moisture,  under  certain  conditions,  is  absorbed 
from  the  atmosphere.  There  is  a  dearth  of  experimental 
evidence  relating  to  this  important  property  of  soils, 
under  conditions  that  approximate  to  those  which  obtain 
in  the  field. 

Schubler*  placed  air-dried  soils  under  an  inverted 
glass  receiver,  and  over  a  reservoir  of  water,  the  vapor 
of  which  was  thus  brought  in  contact  with  the  soils. 
With  a  mean  temperature  of  59°  to  66°,  the  soils  absorbed 
the  following  amounts  of  water  from  the  atmosphere  in 
twenty-four  hours,  for  each  one  hundred  parts  of  soil. 

TABLE  19. 


Kinds  of  Earth. 

Per  cent,  of   water  absorbed  in 
24  hours. 

Silicious  sand  

0 

0.3 

2  6 

3.0 

Stiff  clav  

3.6 

4.2 

Humus     

9.7 

4.5 

Arable  soil  

2.2 

Slaty  marl  

2.9 

It  may  be  said  that  these  experiments  were  made 
under  exceptional  conditions,  the  soil  being  dry,  and 
the  air  saturated  with  the  vapor  of  water,  and  that  they 
do  not  furnish  indications  of  what  would  take  place  in 
the  field.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  seen  that  they 


*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1840,  p.  195. 


RETENTIVE    SOILS.  89 


were  continued  but  twenty-four  hours,  and  that  the  soil 
was  dry  only  at  the  beginning  of  the  process,  while  in 
the  field,  soils  are  dried  upon  the  surface  in  the  day  time, 
and  cooled  at  night  by  radiation,  which  favors  the  con- 
densation of  atmospheric  vapor,  and  that  this  process  is 
almost  daily  repeated  during  the  growing  season,  so  that 
a  much  smaller  percentage  of  absorption  than  was 
obtained  in  these  experiments,  would,  in  the  aggregate, 
form  a  considerable  item  of  consequence  in  the  soil  sup- 
plies of  moisture. 

The  power  of  soils  to  absorb  moisture  from  the 
atmosphere  seems  to  be  closely  related  to  their  capacity 
for  holding  capillary  water,  as  they  both  evidently 
depend,  to  a  great  extent,  upon  the  hygroscopic  proper- 
ties of  organic  matters  and  clay,  thus  placing  the  humus 
and  garden  mold  at  the  head  of  the  list,  closely  followed 
by  the  heavy  clays.  The  accumulation  of  root  residues 
in  well  drained  soils,  resulting  from  tlieir  greater  fertil- 
ity and  wider  range  of  root  distribution,  will  therefore 
increase  their  capacity  for  holding  capillary  water,  and 
for  absorbing  atmospheric  vapor,  as  well  as  the  improved 
physical  conditions,  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

In  the  brief  notice  of  radiant  heat,  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  attention  was  called  to  the  compensations  of 
nature  in  the  reciprocal  interchanges  of  energy  and 
moisture  between  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere  that  were 
constantly  going  on,  and  in  this  place  a  further  applica- 
tion of  the  same  principle  must  be  made.  As  wet  soils 
part  with  their  moisture  by  evaporation,  and  dry  soils 
are  able  to  absorb  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  there 
must  be  frequent  exchanges  of  water,  in  some  form, 
between  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere,  and  the  direction 
in  which  the  transfer  is  made  will  depend  on  their  rela- 
tive humidity  and  temperature.  The  capacity  of  the 
atmosphere  to  absorb  and  retain  the  vapor  of  water 
varies  with  its  temperature.  From  the  high  tempera- 


90  LAND    DRAINING. 

ture  of  a  summer  day  the  capacity  of  the  air  for  moisture 
is  increased,  evaporation  is  rapid,  and  the  surface  soil 
becomes  dry.  With  the  lower  temperature  at  night  the 
capacity  of  the  air  for  moisture  is  diminished,  and  the 
dried  soil  may  then  regain  a  portion  of  the  water  it  had 
parted  with  in  the  daytime.  But  this  is  not  all,  as  the 
transformations  of  energy  are  quite  as  significant  in  the 
alternated  processes  of  evaporation  and  condensation. 

We  have  seen  that  evaporation  is  a  cooling  process, 
as  heat  is  abstracted  from  surrounding  objects  to  per- 
form the  work  of  converting  the  liquid  water  into  vapor. 
From  the  law  of  the  conservation  of  energy,  when  this 
vapor  is  again  changed  to  the  liquid  form,  the  same 
amount  of  heat  is  liberated  that  was  originally  required 
in  the  work  of  evaporation,  and  in  the  appropriation  of 
the  aqueous  vapor  of  the  atmosphere,  the  soil  not  only 
obtains  water,  but  it  is  warmed  by  the  heat  that  is  thus 
made  available.  This  alternation  of  the  processes  of 
evaporation  and  condensation  must  be  of  immense 
importance  in  our  intense  and  variable  climate,  as  it 
tends  to  diminish  the  extremes  of  temperature  in  the 
soil  which  would  otherwise  occur.  The  cooling  process 
of  evaporating  water  from  the  soil  in  a  hot  summer  day, 
prevents  an  excessive  rise  of  the  temperature  of  the  soil, 
that  would  be  injurious  to  vegetation,  which  is  so  fre- 
quently observed  in  arid  regions. 

Schubler  *  found  that,  with  a  temperature  of  77°  in 
the  shade,  dark  colored  dry  soils,  when  exposed  to  the 
sun,  had  a  temperature  of  from  120°  to  124°,  the  sandy 
soils  ranging  the  highest,  which  is  much  above  the  opti- 
mum temperature  for  growing  crops.  With  a  tempera- 
ture of  80°  to  90°,  or  more,  in  the  shade,  the  direct  heat 
of  the  sun  would  undoubtedly  be  injurious  to  crops, 
when  not  counteracted  by  the  evaporation  of  wnter  from 
the  soil,  and  the  capillarity  of  the  soil  must  bo  an 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  Vol.  1,  p.  208.    How  Crops  Feed,  p.  196, 


DRAINING    KETENTIVB    SOILS.  9i 

important  factor  in  renewing  and  maintaining  the  supply. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  condensation  of  the  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere  at  night  liberates  heat,  that  retards 
the  rapid  fall  of  temperature  that  would  otherwise  take 
place  in  the  soil,  in  clear  nights,  from  radiation.  At 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  this  is  also  an  important 
agency  in  preventing  the  occurrence  of  frosts  when  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere  approaches  the  freezing 
point,  and  a  clear  sky  promotes  the  rapid  radiation  of 
heat  from  the  soil.  Under  such  conditions,  this  con- 
servative influence  should  be  especially  manifest  in  the 
most  productive  soils,  which  have  the  greatest  capacity 
for  water,  as  they  part  with  heat  more  rapidly  by  radia- 
tion (see  table  12),  which  would  soon  lower  their  tem- 
perature to  the  freezing  point,  were  it  not  for  their 
greater  power  to  absorb  and  condense  atmospheric  vapor 
and  utilize  its  potential  energy,  which  is  liberated  in 
the  form  of  heat. 

Hygroscopic  Water  Used  by  Plants.  By  a 
modification  of  Schubler's  experiment,  above  mentioned 
(table  19),  Sachs  proved  that  the  hygroscopic  moisture 
absorbed  by  the  soil  from  the  atmosphere,  may  be  util- 
ized by  plants  in  their  processes  of  nutrition.  A  bean 
plant,  growing  in  a  pot  of  retentive  soil,  was  allowed  to 
remain  without  watering  until  the  leaves  began  to  wilt. 
"A  high  and  spacious  glass  cylinder,  having  a  layer  of 
water  at  its  bottom,  was  then  provided,  and  the  pot  con- 
taining the  wilting  plant  was  supported  in  it,  near  its 
top,  while  the  cylinder  was  capped  by  two  semicircular 
plates  of  glass,  which  closed  snugly  about  the  stem  of 
the  bean.  The  pot  of  soil  and  the  roots  of  the  plant 
were  thus  inclosed  in  an  atmosphere  which  was  con- 
stantly saturated,  or  nearly  so,  with  watery  vapor,  while 
the  leaves  were  fully  exposed  to  the  free  air.  It  was 
now  to  be  observed  whether  the  water  that  exhaled  from 
the  leaves  could  be  supplied  by  the  hygroscopic  moisture 


92  LAND   DRAINING. 

which  the  soil  should  gather  from  the  damp  air  envelop- 
ing it.  This  proves  to  be  the  case.  The  leaves  previ- 
ously wilted  recovered  their  proper  turgidity,  and 
remained  fresh  during  the  two  months  of  June  and 
July."* 

From  other  experiments,  it  was  proved  that  the 
roots  of  plants  not  in  contact  with  the  soil,  could  not 
absorb  moisture  from  damp  air,  and  we  thus  have  a 
demonstration  "that  the  clay  soil,  which  condenses 
vapor  in  its  pores,  and  holds  it  as  hygroscopic  water, 
yields  it  again  to  the  plant,  and  thus  becomes  the 
medium  through  which  water  is  continuously  carried 
from  the  atmosphere  into  vegetation."  The  absorption, 
or  condensation  of  the  diffused  vapor  of  water  in  the 
atmosphere  by  soils,  and  its  utilization  by  crops,  is  facil- 
itated by  the  minute  subdivision  and  porosity  of  the 
surface,  that  can  only  be  secured  by  thorough  drainage 
and  tillage,  and  when  these  ameliorating  agencies  are 
supplemented  by  the  accumulation  of  organic  matters 
from  the  root  residues  of  previous  crops,  or  the  applica- 
tion of  manures,  the  atmospheric  supplies  of  water  in 
time  of  drouths  must  be  of  considerable  importance. 

Air-dried  soils  may  contain  from  "0.5  to  10  or 
more  per  cent."  of  hygroscopic  water,  but  we  do  not 
know  what  proportion  of  this  may  be  absorbed  by  plants, 
under  average  conditions,  when  other  sources  of  supply 
are  exhausted.  In  the  last-mentioned  experiment  by 
Sachs  the  percentage  of  hygroscopic  moisture  in  the 
soil  probably  remained  nearly  constant,  the  loss  arising 
from  exhalation  by  the  leaves  being  replaced  at  once  by 
fresh  supplies  from  the  atmosphere.  Under  less  extreme 
conditions  the  moisture  condensed  by  soils  from  the  air 
serves  to  supplement  and  conserve  the  capillary  water  of 
the  soil  that  is  more  readily  appropriated  by  plants,  and 
constitutes,  as  has  already  been  stated,- their  chief  source 

*How  Crops  Feed,  p.  208. 


DRAINING   KETENTIVE    SOILS.  93 

of  supply.  Sachs  made  experiments  with  tobacco  plants 
in  three  kinds  of  soil,  to  determine  the  extent  to  which 
the  capillary  and  hygroscopic  water  contained  in  them 
could  be  used  by  plants,  with  the  following  results  : 

TABLE  20. 

PERCENTAGE  OF  SOIL  WATER  ABSORBED  BY  TOBACCO  PLANTS,  IN 
SACHS'  EXPERIMENTS. 


Soils. 

Percentage    of 
water  the  soil 
could  hold. 

Percentage 
remaining  in 
the  soil    when 
the  plants 
failed  to  grow. 

Difference,  or 
percentage 
used  by  the 
plants. 

Black  humus  and  sand.  . 

46.0 
52  1 

12.3 
8.0 

33.7 
44.1 

Coarse  sand  

20.8 

1.5 

19.3 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  soils  not  only  differ 
in  their  capacity  to  absorb  water,  which  has  already  been 
noticed,  but  they  likewise  differ  widely  in  the  amount 
they  are  enabled  to  retain,  or  withhold  from  plants  when 
most  needed  by  them.  The  sandy  soil  had  the  least 
capacity  for  moisture,  taking  up  but  20.8  per  cent,  of 
its  own  weight,  but  it  gave  up  all  but  1.5  per  cent,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  plants.  The  loam  had  the  greatest 
capacity  for  absorbing  water,  and  it  withheld  but  8.0 
per  cent,  from  the  plants,  while  the  humus  and  sand, 
with  less  capacity  for  absorption,  refused  to  give  up  12.3 
per  cent,  of  its  contained  water. 

It  should  likewise  be  remarked  that  different  species 
of  plants  present  great  differences  in  their  power  to  take 
up  hygroscopic  water  from  a  given  soil,  as  shown  in 
their  relative  ability  to  withstand  the  effects  of  drouth. 
By  draining  retentive  soils,  and  the  practice  of  thorough 
tillage,  and  the  judicious  application  of  manures,  these 
differences  in  the  soils  themselves,  and  in  the  plants 
growing  on  them,  are  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  there 
is  greater  uniformity  and  certainty  in  the  growth  of 
crops  of  different  kinds,  especially  in  seasons  of  severe 
drouth. 

Drained  Soils  are  Reservoirs  for  Holding 
Water.  We  have  seen  that  crops,  in  their  processes  of 


94  LAJSD   DRAINING. 

growth,  require  several  hundred  tons  of  water  per  acre, 
in  the  course  of  the  season,  for  their  perfect  develop- 
ment, and  the  results  of  experiments  show  that  retentive 
soils  that  are  thoroughly  drained  to  the  depth  of  four 
feet  have  a  capacity  for  storing  water,  that  is  often  in 
excess  of  the  requirements  of  the  crop  which  they  are 
otherwise  fitted  to  grow.  Moreover,  this  store  of  capil- 
lary water  is  supplemented  by  supplies  obtained  from 
the  subsoil  by  capillary  attraction,  and  from  the  diffused 
vapor  of  water  in  the  atmosphere  by  surface  condensa- 
tion. When  retentive  soils  are  thoroughly  drained,  the 
mass  of  soil  above  the  level  of  the  drains  becomes,  in 
effect,  a  storage  reservoir  for  retaining  capillary  water 
for  the  use  of  plants  in  time  of  drouth,  and  if  this  stored 
water  is  not,  in  itself,  sufficient  for  the  requirements  of 
the  crop,  the  improved  porosity  or  capillarity  of  the  soil 
provides  means  of  increasing  it  by  considerable  supplies 
from  other  sources. 

The  advantages  of  draining,  then,  are  not  limited 
to  the  removal  of  the  hydrostatic  water  that  interferes 
with  the  growth  of  plants  on  soils  naturally  wet,  or  the 
discharge  of  the  rainfall  that  may  be  in  excess  of  the 
wants  of  vegetation  ;  they  are  alike  manifest  in  prevent- 
ing injury  to  crops  from  the  extreme  conditions  pre- 
sented in  seasons  of  prevailing  drouth  and  excessive 
rainfall.  Capital  expended  in  draining  retentive  soils 
may,  therefore,  be  considered,  in  part  at  least,  'as  a  per- 
manent insurance  investment  against  losses  from  unfa- 
vorable seasons,  and  to  secure  a  reasonably  uniform  and 
remunerative  yield  of  crops. 

Crop  Statistics  of  Good  and  Bad  Seasons. 
One  potent  factor  in  reducing  the  profits  of  agriculture, 
is  the  low  yield  of  crops  obtained  in  unfavorable  seasons, 
which  must  be  largely  attributed  to  insufficient  drainage, 
in  connection  with  its  unavoidable  concomitant  of  imper- 
fect tillage.  At  the  present  time  there  is,  in  fact,  no 


DRAINING    RETENTIVE    SOILS.  95 

problem  in  practical  farm  economy  of  greater  import- 
ance than  that  of  diminishing  the  losses  that  are  so  fre- 
quently caused  by  adverse  climatic  conditions,  and 
securing  a  uniform  return  for  tbe  capital  invested  and 
labor  expended  in  crop  production. 

The  statistics  of  Indian  corn,  in  two  of  the  leading 
States  in  its  production,  in  the  years  1880  and  1889, 
compared  with  the  years  1881  and  1887,  will  be  sufficient 
to  illustrate  the  significance  of  seasonal  variations  in 
crops  in  determining  the  average  profits  of  farming.  In 
five  years  of  the  preceding  decade  the  average  yield  per 
acre  was  higher  than  in  1880  or  1889,  and  these  seasons 
are  selected  as  representing  not  more  than  the  average 
yield  of  good  seasons.  Between  these  years  was  a  period 
of  low  production,  only  two  years  (1885  and  1888),  giv- 
ing an  average  yield,  and  the  lowest  yield  was  in  1881 
and  1887. 

The  difference  in  the  average  yield  of  corn  per  acre 
in  1880  and  1881,  was  in  Iowa,  12.2  bushels ;  in  Illinois, 
7.8  bushels  ;  and  in  the  United  States,  9  bushels  ;  which 
represents  an  aggregate  loss  in  the  unfavorable  season  of 
1881,  of  81,864,000  bushels  in  Iowa;  70,953,000  bushels 
in  Illinois ;  and  578,358,000  bushels  in  the  United 
States.  The  difference  in  average  yield  of  corn  per  acre 
in  1887  and  1889,  was  in  Iowa,  14.0  bushels;  in  Illinois, 
13.1  bushels;  and  in  the  United  States,  0.9  bushels; 
which  represents  a  loss  from  the  unfavorable  season  of 
1887,  of  100,746,000  bushels  in  Iowa;  96,257,000  in  Illi- 
nois, and  500,509,000  bushels  in  the  United  States. 
The  highest  yields  per  acre  in  1880  and  1889,  on  which 
the  above  estimates  are  based,  were  39.5  bushels  in  Iowa, 
32.3  bushels  in  Illinois,  and  27.6  bushels  in  the  United 
States,  or  considerably  below  what  is  realized  by  the 
best  farmers  in  average  seasons.  When  we  consider,  in 
connection  with  this,  that  all  farm  crops  are  subject  to 
the  same  fluctuations  in  yield,  to  which  attention  has 


96  LAND    DRAINING. 

been  called  in  the  case  of  corn,  it  must  -be  seen  that  the 
influence  of  unfavorable  seasons  in  diminishing  the 
profits  of  agriculture  are  not  likely  to  be  overestimated. 
Moreover,  the  effects  of  bad  seasons  on  undrained 
retentive  soils,  resulting  from  either  an  excess  or  defi- 
ciency of  rainfall  are  not  limited  to  the  low  yield  of  pro- 
duce for  the  year,  as  their  impaired  physical  and  biolog- 
ical conditions  are  not  readily  corrected  and  they  have 
a  marked  influence  in  diminishing  the  yield  of  crops  in 
the  most  favorable  seasons. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
PROGRESS  OF  DISCOVERY  AND  INVENTION. 

The  history  of  agriculture  is  but  a  repetition  of  fre- 
quently recurring  cycles  of  empirical  methods  of  prac- 
tice, which  have  culminated,  from  time  to  time  through 
the  teachings  of  experience,  on  the  same  ultimate  level, 
with  few  indications  of  real  progress  aside  from  what 
have  arisen  from  the  improved  implements  furnished  by 
the  mechanic  artsj  which  have  economized  labor  and 
made  it  more  efficient.  In  each  age  we  find  the  same 
practical  problems  presented,  which  are  viewed  by  farm- 
ers from  the  same  standpoint,  and,  ignoring  the  lessons 
of  the  past,  the  same  means  of  solving  them  are  suggested 
by  experience,  with  the  result  that  the  familiar  methods 
of  former  times  are  repeated  and  announced  as  new  dis- 
coveries, that  are  evidence  of  material  improvement  in 
the  practice  of  the  art. 

Even  the  achievements  of  science,  in  its  applications 
to  agriculture,  in  the  past  half  century,  have  not  been 
sufficient  to  correct  the  tendency  to  a  recurrence  of 
these  cycles  of  discovery  and  apparent  progress,  from 


DISCOVERY  AND    INTENTION.  97 

the  attempt  on  the  part  of  many  investigators  to  solve 
all  problems  that  may  arise,  by  the  results  obtained  in 
superficial  experiments,  made  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
single  line  of  investigation,  without  taking  into  account 
the  complexity  of  the  phenomena  under  discussion,  and 
their  dependent  relations  to  other  departments  of  science 
that  are  quite  as  significant. 

A  review  of  some  of  the  leading  facts  in  the  history 
of  land  draining  will  aid  us  in  gaining  a  rational  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  on  which  the  best  methods  of 
practice  are  founded,  while  it  serves  to  illustrate  the 
cycles  of  progress  in  agriculture.  The  draining  of  wet 
lands  must  have  been  practiced  long  before  we  have  any 
written  records  of  agriculture.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  first  drains  were  open  ditches  for  removing 
water  from  swamps  and  low  grounds  that  could  not 
otherwise  be  made  to  grow  useful  crops,  and  water-fur- 
rows to  discharge  surf  ace- water  from  fields,  or  to  protect 
them  from  being  overflowed  by  water  from  adjacent  land. 
The  defects  of  a  system  of  draining  by  open  ditches 
were  so  obvious  that  covered  drains  were  at  once  sug- 
gested, where  they  were  thought  to  be  admissible,  and 
directions  are  given  for  making  both  open  and  covered 
drains,  by  the  earliest  writers  on  agriculture,  whose 
works  have  been  preserved.  The  construction  of 
embankments  as  a  protection  from  floods,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  irrigation  in  time  of  drouths,  had  their  origin, 
likewise,  in  the  pre-historic  period. 

Cato,  who  wrote  in  the  second  century  before  the 
Christian  era,  gave  the  first  specific  directions  for  drain- 
ing that  we  are  acquainted  with,  but  there  is  evidence 
that  extensive  embankments  and  irrigation  works  for 
the  control  of  water,  in  the  interests  of  agricuUure, 
were  made  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  Babylonians 
many  centuries  before  his  time.  Cato  says,  "In  the 
winter  it  is  necessary  that  the  water  be  let  off  from  the 
7 


98  LAND   DRAIN-ING. 

fields.  On  a  declivity  it  is  necessary  to  have  many 
drains.  When  the  first  of  the  autumn  is  rainy  there  is 
the  greatest  danger  from  water;  when  it  begins  to  rain 
the  whole  of  the  servants  ought  to  go  out  with  sarcles, 
and  other  iron  tools,  open  the  drains,  turn  the  water 
into  its  channels,  and  take  care  of  the  corn  fields,  that 
it  flow  from  them.  Wherever  the  water  stagnates 
amongst  the  growing  corn,  or  in  other  parts  of  the  corn 
fields,  or  in  the  ditches,  or  where  there  is  anything  that 
obstructs  its  passage,  that  should  be  removed,  the  flitches 
opened,  and  the  water  let  away."  W^hen  treating  of  the 
culture  of  olives,  he  says,  "If  the  place  is  wet,  it  is 
necessary  that  the  drains  be  made  shelving,  three  feet 
broad  at  the  top,  four  feet  deep,  and  one  foot  and  a 
quarter  wide  at  the  bottom.  Lay  them  in  the  bottom 
with  stones.  If  there  are  no  stones  to  be  got,  lay  them 
with  green  willow  rods,  placed  contrary  ways;  if  rods 
cannot  be  got,  tie  twigs  together."* 

In  the  next  century  Varro  repeats  Cato's  directions 
for  draining,  and  Virgil  refers  to  the  importance  of  irri- 
gation in  drouths.  Columella  and  Pliny,  the  best 
known  writers  on  agriculture  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  lay  down  rules  for  draining,  in  which 
some  details  are  mentioned  that  were  not  noticed  by  the 
earlier  writers.  They  both  recommend  open  ditches  in 
heavy  soils,  "but  where  the  ground  is  more  loose,  some 
of  them  are  made  open,  and  others  of  them  are  also  shut 
up  and  covered  ;  so  that  the  gaping  mouths  of  such  of 
them  as  are  blind  may  empty  themselves  into  those  that 
are  open."f  They  follow  Cato  in  making  open  ditches, 
wide  at  the  top  and  narrow  at  the  bottom,  "for  such  of 
them  whose  sides  are  perpendicular,  are  presently  spoiled 
with  the  water,  and  filled  up  with  the  falling  down  of 
the  ground  that  lies  uppermost.";); 

*Dickson's  Husb.  of  the  Anc.ients,  Vol.  I,  pp.  358,  366. 
t Columella  "Of  Husbandry,"  Book  2,  Chap.  2.    Pliny's  Nat.  Hist.f 
Book  18,  Chap.  8. 
J  Columella,  1.  c. 


DISCOVEKY   AND    INVENTION.  90 

Pliny,  however,  makes  the  additional  suggestion 
that  a  hedge  on  the  banks  of  an  open  ditch  will 
"strengthen  it,"  and  "when  these  drains  are  made  on 
a  declivity,  they  should  have  a  layer  of  gutter  tiles  at 
the  bottom,  or  else  house  tiles  with  the  face  upwards," 
to  prevent  washing.  These  covered  drains  are  trenches 
half  filled  with  stones  or  gravel,  or  "a  rope  of  sprays 
tied  together,"  and  fitted  in  the  bottom,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  the  earth  that  had  been  thrown  out.  The 
depth,  however,  recommended  by  Columella,  is  but 
three  feet.  That  these  open  and  covered  drains,  from 
three  to  four  feet  deep,  were  only  made  in  swampy 
places,  or  where  the  soil  was  saturated  with  water  from 
springs,  is  evident  from  the  frequent  directions  given 
for  making  water-furraws,  to  protect  the  crops  from  sur- 
face water,  particularly  in  the  fall  and  winter  months.* 

Columella,  however,  displays  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  thorough  drainage,  when  he  calls  attention 
to  the  treatment  of  the  "broad  plots  of  ground,"  on 
which  the  crops  fail  to  grow.  "It  is  proper  that  marks 
should  be  set  on  these  bare  spots,  that,  at  a  proper  time, 
we  may  cure  diseases  of  this  kind ;  for  when  either  this 
ousiness,  or  any  other  pest,  entirely  kills  the  corn,  then 
we  ought  to  spread  pigeons'  dung,  or,  if  this  cannot  be 
had,  Cyprus  leaves,  and  then  plow  them  into  the  ground. 
But  the  principal  remedy  of  all  is  to  make  a  deep  furrow, 
and  thereby  drain  and  convey  from  thence  all  moisture; 
otherwise  the  aforesaid  remedies  will  be  useless  and  have 
no  effect. "\ 

Palladius,  in  the  third  or  fourth  century,  repeats  the 
maxims  of  the  earlier  writers  on  draining,  and,  with 
Columella,  gives  three  feet  as  a  proper  depth  for  drains. 
These  old  Romans  were  the  sole  authorities  on  draining, 

*  Columella,  1.  c.,  Book  2,  Chap.  9,  Book  11,  Chap.  2,  etc.    Pliny,  1.  c., 
Book  18,  Chaps.  49  and  64. 
tL.c.,  Book  2,  Chap.  9. 


100  LAND  DRAINING. 

and  their  methods  were  practiced,  without  any  improve- 
ment, for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  A  new  era  in 
draining  literature  was  begun  with  the  publication  of  a 
"broadside/'  by  an  anonymous  writer  in  England,  in 
1583,  with  the  claim,  "  Herein  is  taught,  even  for  the 
capacity  of  the  meanest,  how  to  drain  moores,  and  all 
other  wet  grounds  or  bogges,  and  lay  them  dry  forever  ; "  * 
and  the  appearance  in  France,  in  1600,  of  the  "  Theatre 
of  Agriculture"  by  Oliver  de  Serres,  the  Lord  of  Pre- 
del,  in  Languedoc.  f 

In  the  last  mentioned  work,  drains  four  feet  deep 
are  recommended,  "in  order  to  cut  off  the  source  of 
springs,  which  is  the  special  aim  of  this  business."  The 
trenches  are  half  filled  with  stones,  and  the  excavated 
earth  packed  above  them,  making  a  covered  drain  "for 
the  commodiousness  of  tillage."  When  stones  cannot 
be  obtained,  an  open  water-way  is  secured,  by  contract- 
ing the  trench  one  foot  from  the  bottom,  and  leaving  a 
shoulder  on  each  side,  on  which  bundles  of  straw  are 
placed  to  support  the  earth  with  which  the  trench  is 
filled.  This  appears  to  be  the  only  improvement  sug- 
gested in  the  construction  of  drains,  since  the  time  of 
the  Romans. 

It  is  evident  that  deep  open,  or  covered  drains  were 
not  in  common  use  at  this  time,  as  they  are  only  inci- 
dentally mentioned  in  the  ponderous  folio  of  over  700 
pages,  published  in  London  in  1616,  called  "Maison 
Rustique,  or  The  Countrey  Farme,  compyled  in  the 
French  Tongue,"  by  Stevens  and  Liebault,  and  trans- 
lated into  English  by  Richard  Surflet,  "with  divers 
large  additions  out  of  the  works  of  Serres,  his  agricul- 
ture," etc.,  "and  the  Husbandrie  of  France,  Italic  and 
Spaine,  reconciled  and  made  to  agree  with  ours  here  in 
England,  By  Gervaise  Markham." 

*Gisborne  Agricultural  Drainage,  p.  74. 

tKlippart's  Land  Drainage,  p.  7.     London's  Enoyel.  of  Ag'l,  p.  1214. 


DISCOVERY    AND    INVENTION.  101 

In  this  elaborate  work,  covering  the  entire  field  of 
agriculture,  as  then  practiced,  including  many  "secrets" 
of  veterinary  practice,  the  references  to  draining  are 
brief,  and  confined,  in  the  main,  to  directions  for  throw- 
ing land  in  ridges,  and  the  opening  of  water-furrows. 
"Meadow  grounds  must  also  be  verie  well  drained  from 
water,  if  they  be  subject  thereunto,  and  sluces  and 
draines  made  either  by  plough,  spade,  or  other  instru- 
ment, which  may  convey  it  from  one  sluce  to  another 
till  it  fall  into  some  ditch  or  river."  "  Like  wise,  if 
there  be  anie  marish  or  dead  water  in  anie  part  of  your 
meadow,  you  must  cause  the  same  to  runne  and  drayne 
out  by  some  Conduits  and  Trenches ;  for  without  all 
peradventure,  the  super-aboundance  of  water  doth  as 
much  harme  as  the  want  scarcitie,  or  lacke  of  the  same." 
If  the  soil  "be  within  any  daunger  of  water,  or  subject 
to  a  spewing  and  moist  qualitie  ;  then  you  shall  lay  your 
lands  high,  raising  up  ridges  in  the  middest  and  furrowes 
of  one  side,  and  according  as  the  moisture  is  more  or 
lesse,  so  you  shall  make  the  ridges  high  or  low,  and  the 
descent  greater  or  lesse ;  but  if  your  ground,  besides  the 
moisture,  or  by  meanes  of  the  too  much  moisture,  be 
subject  to  much  binding,  then  you  shall  make  the  lands 
a  great  deale  lesse,  laying  everie  four  or  five  furrowes 
round  like  a  land,  and  making  a  hollowness  between 
them,  so  that  the  earth  may  be  light  and  drie."* 

While  the  knowledge  relating  to  draining,  and  the 
prevailing  practice  of  the  best  farmers  at  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century  were,  in  all  probability,  fairly 
presented  in  these  books,  there  is  evidence  that  at  about 
this  time,  or  soon  afterwards,  important  improvements 
were  made  in  the  construction  of  drains  by  individuals, 
which,  from  the  lack  of  means  of  communication,  were 
not  made  public,  and  of  which  we  have  no  written 
records. 

*  Maison  Rustique,  pp.  494,  498,  530. 


102  LAND   DRAINING. 

The  garden  of  the  monastery  of  Maubeuge,  in 
France,  had  been  noted  for  its  fertility  and  the  quality 
and  earliness  of  its  fruit.  This  was  finally  accounted 
for  by  the  discovery  of  a  system  of  pipe  drains  that  had 
been  laid  at  a  depth  of  four  feet  "throughout  the  whole 
garden,"  and  the  indications  were  that  this  had  been 
uone  previous  to  1620.  The  pipes  were  "about  ten 
inches  long  and  four  inches  in  diameter,"  one  end  of 
which  was  flaring,  or  funnel-shaped,  and  the  other  made 
tapering,  to  fit  the  expanded  end  of  the  adjoining  pipe. 
These  pipe-tile  drains  antedate  any  others  of  which  we 
have  any  knowledge,  more  than  two  hundred  years,  but 
the  history  of  the  invention  was  lost,  and  it  had  no  influ- 
ence on  the  development  of  the  art  of  draining.* 

In  the  period  from  1645  to  1655,  a  foundation  was 
laid  for  an  improved  agriculture  in  England,  through 
the  influence  of  Sir  Richard  Weston,  Samuel  Hartlib 
and  Capt.  Walter  Blith.  The  introduction  of  clover, 
and  other  green  crops,  including  turnips,  from  "Brabant 
and  Flanders,"  by  Sir  Richard  Weston  (1645),  the 
industry  of  Hartlib,  in  collecting  and  publishing  the 
experience  of  farmers  in  new  methods,  and  with  new 
forage  crops  (1645-55)),  and  Blith's  advocacy  of  a  diver- 
sified agriculture,  in  connection  with  a  system  of  drain- 
ing low  lands  (1649-52),  mark  this  as  one  of  the  most 
important  epochs  in  the  history  of  English  agriculture, 
which  we  can  only  notice  in  its  relations  to  draining. f 

"  The  English  Improver,  or  a  new  System  of  Hus- 
bandry," published  by  Blith,  in  London,  1649,  was  the 
first  work  in  England  in  which  a  system  of  deep  and 
thorough  draining  was  recommended.  A  new  edition 
soon  appeared,  and  in  1652  "The  Third  Impression, 


*Klippart,  I.e.,  pp.  9,  12. 

t  London,  Eneyel.  of  Ag'l,  p.  46.  Donaldson's  Ag'l  Biography,  pp. 
21.  25.  Copeland,  Ag'l  An.  and  Mod.,  Vol.  1,  pp.  101, 107.  Birth's  Survey  of 
Husb.  Surveyed,  1652.  Hart  lib's  Legacy  of  Husbandry,  1655. 


DISCOVERY    AND    INVENTION.  103 

much  Augmented,  with  a  Second  Part  containing  Six 
newer  Peeces  of  Improvement,"  was  published  under 
the  imposing  title  of  "  The  English  Improver  Improved, 
or  the  Survey  of  Husbandry  Surveyed,  Discovering  the 
Improveabloness  of  all  Lands  ;  some  to  be  under  a  double 
and  Treble,  others  under  a  Five  or  Six  Fould.  And 
many  under  a  Term  fould,  yea  some  under  a  Twenty 
fould  Improvement.  By  Wa :  Blith,  a  lover  of  Inge- 
nuity," which  is  dedicated  in  a  lengthy  epistle,  "To  the 
Right  Honorable  the  Lord  General  Cromwell." 

The  drains  recommended  by  Blith  are  essentially 
the  same  as  those  described  by  the  early  Roman  writers 
on  agriculture.  Stones,  "  green  faggots,  Willow,  Alder, 
Elm  or  Thorn,"  being  used  to  provide  a  water  way  in 
covered  drains,  and  his  system  is  confined  to  the 
improvement  of  low  lands  He  is,  however,  entitled  to 
credit  for  improved  implements  for  cutting  trenches, 
and  his  earnestness  in  urging  the  importance  of  deep 
and  thorough  drainage,  in  accordance  with  a  definite 
plan.  After  urging  the  necessity  of  deep  drains  in 
boggy  ground,  he  says,  "But  for  these  common  and 
many  Trenches,  ofttiines  crooked,  too,  that  men  usually 
make  in  their  Boggy  grounds,  some  one  foot,  some  Two, 
never  having  respect  to  the  cause  or  matter  that  maketh 
the  Bog,  to  take  that  way,  I  say  away  with  them  as  a 
great  piece  of  Folly,  lost  labor  and  spoyl;  which  I 
desire  as  well  to  preserve  the  Reader  from,  as  to  put 
him  upon  any  profitable  experiment ;  for  truly  they  do 
far  more  hurt  than  good,  destroy  with  their  Trench  and 
Earth  cast  out,  half  their  Land,  danger  their  Cattell, 
and  when  the  Trench  is  old  it  stoppeth  more  than  it 
taketh  away,  &  when  it  is  new,  as  to  the  destroying  the 
Bog  it  doth  just  nothing,  onley  take  away  a  little  water 
which  falles  from  the  heavens,  and  weakens  the  Bog 
nothing  at  all,  and  to  the  end  it  pretends  is  of  no 
use,  for  the  cause  thereof  lyeth  beneath  and  under  the 


104  LAND   DRAINING. 

bottom  of  all  their  workes,  and  so  remaines  as  fruitf ull  to 
the  Bog  as  before,  and  more  secure  from  reducement 
than  if  nothing  was  done  at  all  upon  it."  Blith  found 
few  followers  in  his  methods  of  draining,  and  more  than 
a  century  elapsed  before  any  improvements  in  the  art 
were  made. 

Elkington's  System.  Joseph  Elkington,  a  War- 
wickshire farmer,  practiced  draining  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  with  considerable  success,  by  a  secret  pro- 
cess which  he  claimed  to  have  discovered  in  1764.  At 
the  request  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  1795,  Parlia- 
ment made  a  grant  of  £1,000  to  Elkington  for  his  secret. 
In  1796  Mr.  John  Johnston  was  sent  out  to  accompany 
Mr.  Elkington  and  learn  his  methods  of  practice,  the 
results  of  which  were  published  in  1797.* 

Dr.  James  Anderson,  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  had, 
however,  published  an  "  Essay  on  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Affairs,"  in  1775,  in  which  he  describes  a  method  of 
draining  by  ef  tapping  the  springs,"  which  is  essentially 
the  same  as  that  practiced  by  Elkington,  and  we  arc 
informed  by  Oopeland  that  the  same  method  had  been 
practiced  in  Italy  "from  a  very  ancient  date."  |  This 
method  is  only  applicable  in  special  cases,  where  the 
water  of  springs  is  held  back  by  impervious  strata,  that 
can  be  perforated  by  boring  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch, 
so  that  the  water,  rising  through  the  auger  hole,  is  dis- 
charged by  the  drain,  which  may  be  left  open  or  covered. 
Elkington  adopted  the  methods  of  making  covered 
drains,  that  had  been  practiced  in  several  counties  in 
England,  which  consisted  in  partly  filling  the  trenches 
with  stones,  brush  or  straw,  and  in  some  cases  channels 


*  'An  Account  of  the  most  Approved  Mode  of  Draining  Land, 
According  to  the  System  Practiced  by  Mr.  Joseph  Elkinglon,"  Edin- 
burgh, 1797,  pp.  v-x  and  5-6. 

t  A  Practical  Treatise  on  Draining  Bogs  and  Swampy  G rounds,  by 
James  Anderson,  London,  1797,  p.  4.  Copeland,  Ag'l  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern, Vol.  1,  p.  664. 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION.  105 

for  water  were  built  with  bricks  of  peculiar  form  made 
for.  the  purpose  ;  or  horse-shoe  tiles,  with  a  broad  flange 
at  the  bottom,  were  sometimes  used,  as  shown  in  fig.  5. 
Stones  were,  however,  preferred,  when  they  could  be 
readily  obtained,  as  they  cost  less. 

Elkington's  system  of  draining  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  method  of  boring,  or  digging  pits  in 
the  bottom  of  ditches,  to  discharge  water  to  a  lower 
pervious  stratum  of  soil,  which  had  been  practiced  many 
years  before.  Dr.  Nugent,  in  his  travels  in  Germany, 
in  1766,  described  this  method  of  draining  marshes  that 
had  no  available  outlet.  "A  pit  is  dug  in  the  deepest 
part  of  the  moor,  till  they  come  below  the  obstructing 
clay,  and  meet  with  such  a  spongy  stratum  as,  in  all 
appearance,  will  be  sufficient  to  imbibe  the  moisture  of 
the  marsh  above  it." *  Covered  drains  are  then  made,  dis- 
charging into  the  pit,  which  is  protected  with  flat  stones 
and  covered  with  earth. 

In  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century  tiles  of 
better  form  than  those  previously  used  were  brought 
into  notice,  but,  on  the  whole,  the  practice  of  draining 
had  made  but  little  progress  since  the  time  of  Cato,  as 
attention  was  exclusively  directed  to  the  draining  of 
swamps  and  low  lands,  or  the  removal  of  the  water  of 
springs  from  higher  lands,  and,  in  most  cases,  the  rude 
methods  of  making  a  water  way  with  stones  and  brush 
in  covered  drains,  were  essentially  the  same  as  described 
by  the  Eoman  writers  on  agriculture.  The  better 
methods  which,  from  time  to  time,  had  been  adopted  by 
individuals  who  appeared  to  be  in  advance  of  the  age  in 
which  they  lived,  were  not  widely  known,  and  they,  in 
fact,  had  been  neglected  and  forgotten.  The  tile  drains 
in  the  garden  of  the  Monastery  of  Maubeuge,  already 
mentioned,  are  not  the  only  illustration  of  a  lost  art  in 
the  history  of  draining.  George  Stephens,  in  The  Prac- 

*  Elkington's  Draining,  1797,  p  56. 


106  LAND   DRAINING. 

tical  Irrigator  and  Drainer,  published  in  1834,  says : 
"In  draining  the  park  at  Grimsthorpe,  Lincolnshire, 
about  three  years  ago,  some  drains,  made  with  tiles, 
were  found  eight  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground ; 
the  tiles  were  similar  to  what  are  now  used,  and  in  as 
good  a  state  of  preservation  as  when  first  laid,  al  thong' i 
they  must  have  remained  there  above  one  hundred  years." 
Old  methods  were  blindly  copied,  or,  perhaps,  in  somo 
cases,  they  were  re-invented,  as  the  most  obvious  expe- 
dients for  removing  water  from  low  lands  by  means  of 
materials  already  at  hand,  but  there  was  no  indication 
of  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  on  which  the  best  mod- 
ern practice  is  founded. 

Deanston  System.  The  time  was,  however,  ripe 
for  the  development  and  general  adoption  of  a  better 
system  of  draining,  even  at  the  beginning  of  the  century. 
The  Board  of  Agriculture  had  just  completed  agricul- 
tural surveys  of  the  counties  of  Great  Britain,  and 
increased  attention  was  given  to  improvements  in  the 
practice  of  agriculture.  Among  those  who  were  taking 
an  active  interest  in  the  progress  of  agriculture,  Mr. 
Buchanan,  a  retired  manufacturer  of  Deanston,  in 
Perthshire,  Scotland,  is  entitled  to  especial  notice,  for 
his  success  in  draining  the  heavy  clays  on  his  farm,  at 
Catrine  Bank,  in  the  humid  climate  of  Ayrshire,  which 
proved  to  be  the  prelude  of  our  present  system  of 
draining. 

His  nephew,  James  Smith,  when  gaining  a  univer- 
sity education,  spent  his  vacations  with  his  uncle  on  the 
Ayrshire  farm,  where  he  witnessed  and  became  inter- 
ested in  the  ameliorating  influence  of  frequent  drains 
(eighteen  inches  deep)  on  the  retentive  clay  soils,  which, 
under  other  management,  had  been  unproductive.  "At 
the  ear'y  age  of  eighteen  years  (1807)  Mr.  Smith  was 
appointed  manager  of  the  Deanston  works,  that  had 
become  the  property  of  a  company  of  which  his  uncle 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION.  107 

was  partner."*  His  energy  and  successful  business 
methods,  and  the  provisions  made  for  the  education  and 
comfort  of  his  "work-people,"  soon  gained  for  the 
Deanston  Cotton  Works  the  reputation  of  a  model  indus- 
trial establishment. 

In  1823  his  early  interest  in  the  improvement  of 
clay  soils  by  drainage  was  revived,  and  he  began  to 
improve  the  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  connected  with 
the  property,  by  thorough  draining  with  "parallel  drains 
sixteen  to  twenty  feet  apart,  and  twenty-seven  inches 
deep."  In  March,  1833,  he  first  published  the  results 
of  his  experience  in  an  article  on  "  Thorough  Draining 
and  Deep  Ploughing,"  contributed  to  a  local  agricultural 
report,  which  was  favorably  received,  and  "Smith  of 
Deanston"  became  widely  known  as  the  originator  of  a 
new  departure  in  farm  draining. 

In  1836,  he  gave  "a  more  lucid  exposition"  of  his 
methods,  in  another  article,  "  On  Thorough  Draining 
and  Dee})  Ploughing  "  \  in  which  he  says  :  "The  prin- 
ciple of  the  system  is  the  providing  of  frequent  oppor- 
tunities for  the  water  rising  from  below,  or  falling  on 
the  surface,  to  pass  freely  and  completely  off,  and  there- 
fore the  most  appropriate  appellation  for  it  seems  to 
be  'The  Frequent  Drain  System."'  His  uncle,  Mr. 
Buchanan,  made  his  drains  in  Ayrshire  eighteen  inches 
deep  and  twelve  feet  apart.  Mr.  Smith's  drains,  at 
Deanston,  were  at  first  made  twenty-seven  inches  deep 
and  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  apart,  but  in  his  final  paper, 
giving  the  results  of  his  more  extended  experience,  he 
says:  "The  main  should  be,  at  least,  three  feet,  and, 
if  possible,  three  and  one-half  or  four  feet  under  the 
surface,"  and  the  laterals  from  ten  to  forty  feet  apart, 
according  to  the  retentiveness  of  the  subsoil. 


*  Donaldson's  Ag'l  Biog.,  p.  123. 
t  Farmers'  Magazine,  Vol.  V,  p.  37 


108  LAND   DEALING. 

Mr.  Smith  was  the  first  writer  to  recommend  the 
thorough  draining  of  high  lands,  and  his  reasons  for  the 
practice  are  therefore  of  interest.  After  a  brief  refer- 
ence to  Elkington's  system,  he  says  :  "The  portion  of 
land  wetted  by  water  springing  from  below  bears  but  a 
very  small  proportion  to  that  which  is  in  a  wet  state 
from  the  retention  of  the  water  which  falls  upon  the  sur- 
face in  the  state  of  rain,  and  a  vast  extent  of  the  arable 
land  of  Scotland  and  England,  generally  esteemed  dry,  is 
yet  so  far  injured  by  the  tardy  and  imperfect  escape  of 
the  ivater,  especially  in  winter  and  during  long  periods 
of  wet  weather  in  spring  and  summer,  that  the  working 
of  the  land  is  often  difficult  and  precarious,  and  its  fer- 
tility much  below  what  would  uniformly  exist  under  a 
state  of  thorough  dryness.  A  system  of  drainage,  there- 
fore, generally  applicable,  and  effecting  complete  and 
uniform  dryness,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
agricultural  interests,  and  through  them,  to  all  the  inter- 
ests of  the  country.  By  the  system  here  recommended 
this  is  attained,  whilst  the  expense  is  moderate,  and  the 
permanency  greater  than  on  any  other  system  yet 
known."  -The  distinctive  features  of  the  Smith  of 
Deanston  system  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

1st.  Main  drain  in  bottom  of  chief  hollow  at  least 
three  feet,  or,  if  possible,  three  and  one-half  to  four  feet 
deep,  with  a  uniform  slope. 

2d.     Frequent  drains  ten  to  forty  feet  apart. 

3d.  Drains  parallel,  at  regular  distance  over  the 
whole  field,  without  reference  to  the  wet  or  dry  appear- 
ance of  portions  of  the  field. 

4th.     Drains  running  directly  down  the  slope. 

5th.  Stones  preferred  to  tiles  on  the  grounds  of 
cheapness  and  permanency. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Smith's  originality  and  inde- 
pendence, he  was  apparently  biased  by  the  popular  prej- 
udice against  tiles,  on  account  of  the  assumed  difficulty 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION. 


109 


of  the  entrance  of  water  to  the  drains,  and  when  tiles 
were  used  he  placed  a  layer  of  stones  over  them,  as 
shown  in  the  following  figures,  copied  from  his  paper 
of  1836. 


flagged  Main  Arched  Main 


SmaJlTile    DoubleTile      UigeTile     Inverted  Couple 


FIG.  4.    SECTIONS  OF  DRAINS,  AFTER  SMITH  OF  DEANSTON. 

The  layer  of  stones  over  the  tiles  do  no  good,  and 
needlessly  increase  the  expense  of  draining,  and  they 
should  not  be  considered  as  a  characteristic  feature  of 
the  Dean st on  system,  but  rather  a  conformity  to  a  com- 
mon practice  that  had  its  origin  in  a  misconception  of 
the  manner  in  which  water  enters  drains,  which  will  be 
discussed  in  another  chapter. 


110  LAND    DRAINING. 

In  "  The  Practical  Irrigator  and  Drainer  "  1834, 
by  George  Stephens,  we  are  told  that  stones  are,  better 
than  tiles,  and  where  the  latter  are  used  they  should  be 
covered  with,  at  least,  six  or  eight  inches  of  stones,  and, 
"in  any  case,  however,  where  tiles  are  used,  the  space 
above  them  must  be  filled  to  the  surface  of  the  ground 
with  some  porous  material,  otherwise  the  drains  will  be 
useless,  and  the  undertaking  will  prove  a  complete  fail- 
ure." From  Mr.  Smith's  knowledge  of  general  princi- 
ples, and  his  sound  judgment  in  other  particulars,  it  is 
strange  that  he  should  have  followed  the  common  prac- 
tice, which  was  founded  in  error. 

"Smith,  of  Deanston,"  was  an  earnest  advocate  of 
the  advantages  of  deep  plowing  and  thorough  tillage,  in 
connection  with  his  system  of  draining,  as  the  title  of 
his  papers  indicate.  He  invented  a  subsoil  plow,  that 
was  used  with  the  best  results,  on  his  farm  of  two 
hundred  acres,  stirring  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  sixteen 
inches.  Among  the  incidental  advantages  of  draining 
high  lands,  he  made  the  suggestion  that  the  "absence 
of  ridges  and  prevalence  of  a  uniform  and  smooth  sur- 
face," would  facilitate  the  use  of  reaping  machinery, 
which  he  predicted  would  very  soon  be  employed  on 
every  farm. 

In  the  industrial  arts,  the  great  discoveries,  or 
inventions,  are  so  often  made,  at  about  the  same  time, 
by  a  number  of  individuals  acting  independently,  that 
they  seem  to  be  the  result  of  the  development  of  the 
age,  rather  than  the  prerogative  of  individual  genius. 
The  progress  made  in  the  common  stock  of  intelligence 
and  knowledge,  apparently  determines  the  possibilities 
and  direction  of  the  work  of  discovery  and  invention. 
The  system  of  draining  invented  by  Smith,  of  Deanston, 
furnishes  another  illustration  of  this  well-known  fact, 
but  it  does  not,  in  the  least,  diminish  his  well-earned 
reputation  as  the  exponent  of  an  improved  system  of 


DISCOVERY    AND    INVENTION.  Ill 

great  practical  value.  Mr.  Ph.  Pusey,  M.  P.,  in  1842, 
informs  us  that  he  had  obtained  conclusive  evidence 
that  a  system  of  draining,  essentially  t  e  same  as  th  t 
described  by  Mr.  Smith,  had  been  practiced  in  Suffolk 
for  more  than  forty  years  (some  of  his  correspondents 
say  100  years),  and  that  for  a  long  time  it  had  likewise 
been  practiced  in  Essex,  "so  much  so  as  to  be  called 
the  Essex  system,  even  in  Scotland."*  It  likewise 
appears  to  have  been  known  quite  as  long  in  Norfolk 
and  Hertfordshire. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when  Mr. 
Buchanan  was  draining  the  tenacious  upland  clays  of 
his  Ayrshire  farm,  the  farmers  of  Essex,  Suffolk  and 
Norfolk,  and  other  counties  of  England,  were  using  the 
same  means  of  ameliorating  retentive  soils,  but  they 
had  no  Smith  of  Deanston  to  formulate  their  improved 
methods  as  a  system  of  general  application,  and  they 
were  soon  neglected,  and  finally  only  known  through 
tradition,  or  the  exposure  of  their  work  in  subsequent 
excavations,  under  conditions  that  indicated  the  time  of 
its  performance.  These  improved  methods,  like  the 
tiles  in  the  garden  of  the  monastery  of  Maubeuge,  and 
in  the  park  in  Lincolnshire,  which  we  have  noticed, 
were  forgotten,  as  there  was  no  written  record  of  their 
history,  and  the  time  had  not  come  for  a  general  appre- 
,  ciiition  of  their  value  as  a  means  of  agricultural  improve- 
ment. The  history  of  agriculture  abounds  in  illustra- 
tions of  the  re-discovery  of  old  methods  that  are  dressed 
up  and  announced  as  representing  the  latest  development 
of  the  art,  without  any  marked  advance  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  a  correct  practice. 

In  1842,  the  interest  taken  by  farmers  in  the  subject 
of  draining,  as  the  Smith  of  Deanston  system  became 
better  known,  led  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  to 
offer  a  prize  of  "Fifty  Sovereigns,  or  a  piece  of  Plate 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1842,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  170.     1843,  Vol.  IV:  pp.  23-49. 


112  LAND   DRAINING. 

of  that  value,"  for  an  essay  on  "the  best  mode  of  Under 
Draining  Land."*  The  prize  was  awarded  to  Thomas 
Arkell,  a  Wiltshire  farmer,  in  the  following  year,  but 
the  essay  contained  nothing  of  permanent  value,  as  his 
methods  of  draining  were  the  results  of  his  own  personal 
experience,  uninfluenced  by  what  had  already  been  done 
by  others,  and  the  discussion  of  principles  did  not  fairly 
represent  the  best  practice  of  the  time. 

Deanston  System  Improved.  Mr.  Josiah  Parkes, 
consulting  engineer  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
was  the  first  to  suggest  any  improvement  on  the  Smith 
of  Deanston  system.  In  1843  he  made  a  "Report  on 
Drain  Tiles  and  Drainage,"  the  society  having  offered  a 
"premium  of  ten  sovereigns  for  the  drain  tile  which 
should  fulfill  certain  specified  conditions,"  in  which  he 
describes  the  different  forms  of  tiles  exhibited,  f  He 
urges  the  advantages  of  pipe-tiles,  which,  he  says,  were 
first  made  thirty-five  years  before  in  Kent,  "  by  bending 
a  sheet  of  clay,  as  usually  prepared  for  the  common 
drain-tile,  over  a  wooden  cylindric  mandrel.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  imperfect  union  of  the  two  faces  of  the 
clay,  a  narrow  slit  was  left  throughout  the  length  of  the 
tile,  which  served,  and  was  then  thought  necessary,  to 
admit  the  water."  The  pipe- tiles  exhibited  were  from 
one  inch  to  two  and  one-fourth  inches  in  diameter,  and 
the  sole  tiles  from  one  and  one-half  to  two  and  three- 
fourths  inches,  and  Mr.  Parkes  cites  the  experience  of 
several  farmers  to  show  that  the  small  pipes  of  one  inch 
had  a  sufficient  capacity  for  thoroughly  draining  the  land. 

In  remarks  on  the  use  of  these  small  pipes,  he  says  : 
"the  principle  that  less  frequent  but  very  deep  drains 
are  equally  effective  with  more  numerous  and  shalloiver 
ones,  is  recognized  by  these  intelligent  and  practical 
farmers.  It  must  also  be  considered  as  a  discovery  of 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1843,  p.  319. 
t  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1843,  p.  369. 


DISCOVERT  AND    INVENTION.  113 

no  slight  national  importance,,  that  experience  has  proved 
a  very  much  smaller  area  of  drain  to  suffice  for  passing 
the  water  filtrating  through  an  acre  of  land,  than  has 
hitherto  been  imagined  ;  for  it  is  mainly  owing  to  the 
substantiation  of  this  fact,  that  the  pipe- tile  of  the 
eastern  counties,  and  Mr.  Etheredge's  small  tiles  and 
covers  (horse-shoe  tiles  with  a  sole)  can  be  supplied  with 
such  a  remarkable  economy,  in  comparison  with  the  old 
tile,  and  with  most  other  materials  hitherto  employed 
in  drainage." 

Another  decided  improvement  brought  out  by  Mr. 
Parkes,  was  in  the  method  of  covering  the  tiles.  For- 
mer writers,  as  we  have  seen,  insisted  that  a  covering  of 
stones  or  other  porous  material  was  necessary  when  tiles 
were  used.  The  fallacy  of  this  assumption  is  shown,  by 
Mr.  Parkes,  in  the  experience  of  Mr.  John  'Taylor,  of 
Kent,  who  used  tiles  one  and  one-half  inches  in  diame- 
ter. He  says,  "I  have  my  drains  dug  from  three  feet  six 
inches  to  four  feet  deep ;  the  bottom  of  the  drain  is  left 
for  the  pipe  to  quite  Jill  it,  so  that  it  is  impossible  for  the 
pipe  to  move  after  it  is  put  into  the  drain.  Clay  is  then 
well  rammed  over  the  pipes  to  two  feet  in  depth,  which  1 
prefer  to  anything  else  when  it  can  be  got  to  cover  the 
tiles.'"  Mr.  Taylor,  who  was  a  tenant  farmer,  then 
remarks,  "I  have  thoroughly  drained  forty  acres,  and 
have  many  other  fields  partly  drained.  I  should  be 
glad  to  drain  the  whole  farm,  which  contains  about 
three  hundred  acres,  provided  my  landlady  would  find 
tiles ;  or  I  would  gladly  pay  five  per  cent,  upon  the  out- 
lay, but  I  am  sorry  to  say,  she  discontinues  to  support 
that  first  step  of  improvement,  land-draining  "* 

In  1844,  in  a  letter  to  "  Ph.  Pusey,  Esq.,  M.  P." 
"I.  On  the  Influence  of  Water  on  the  Temperature  of 
Soils.  2.  On  the  Quantity  of  Rain-water  and  its  Dis- 
charge by  Drains,"  Mr.  Parkes  made  a  valuable  contri- 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1843,  p.  378. 


114  LAKD 


bution,  to  our  knowledge,  of  the  principles  of  draining, 
and  pointed  out  improvements  on  the  Smith  of  Deanston 
system  that  led  to  the  development  of  the  best  modern 
practice.  He  made  a  judicious  and  consistent  applica- 
tion of  the  known  facts  of  science  at  the  time,  and  gave 
the  results  of  his  own  experiments  on  the  temperature 
of  drained  and  midrained  soils,  in  connection  with  the 
experiments  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  on  the  relations  of  rain- 
fall to  drainage  and  evaporation,  which  we  have  quoted 
in  a  preceding  chapter.  He  recommends  the  use  of 
small  pipes  for  laterals,  and  "parallel  drains  consider- 
ably deeper  and  less  frequent  than  those  commonly 
advocated  by  professed  drainers,  or  in  general  use." 
After  a  review  of  the  actual  and  relative  cost  and  effi- 
ciency of  drains  that  had  been  made  at  different  distances 
and  depths  in  retentive  soils,  he  sums  up  the  results  in 
the  following  table  : 

TABLE  21. 

MASS  OF  SOIL.  DRAINED  AND  COST  OF  DRAINING  FOR  DIFFERENT 
DEPTHS  AND  DISTANCES  OF  TILES. 


Depth  of 
drains  in 
feet. 

Distance  be- 
tween the 
drains  in  feet. 

Mass  of  soil 
drained  per 
acre  in   cubic 
yards. 

Mass  of  soil    Surface  of  soil 
drained  for  Irf  draii.dd  for  Id 
in  cubic  yards,  iin  square  yds. 

2 
3 
4 

24 
33J 
50 

3226£ 
4840 
6453 

4.10 
8.93 
12.00 

6.27 
8.93 
8.% 

This  table  represents  the  results  of  the  experience 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Hammond,  of  Kent,  who  made  many 
experiments  in  draining,  to  which  Mr.  Parkes  frequently 
refers  in  his  papers.  An  experiment  made  on  the  influ- 
ence of  depth  on  the  discharge  from  tile  drains  was 
reported  as  follows:  With  reference  to  "the  quantity 
of  water  discharged  from  different  drains,  after  rain, 
in  the  same  time,"  Mr.  Parkes  says:  "I  have  only 
succeeded  in  obtaining  sufficiently  exact  information 
from  Mr.  Hammond,  whose  intelligence  had  led  him  to 
make  the  experiment  without  any  suggestion  from  me. 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION.  115 

He  states,  '  I  found,  after  the  late  rains  (Feb.  17,  1844), 
that  a  drain  four  feet  deep  ran  eight  pints  of  water  in 
the  same  time  that  another  three  feet  deep  ran  five  pints, 
although  placed  at  equal  distances.'  The  circumstances 
under  which  this  experiment  was  made,  as  well  as  its 
indications,  deserve  particular  notice.  The  site  was  the 
hop-ground  before  referred  to,  which  had  been  under- 
drained  thirty-five  years  since  to  a  depth  varying  from 
twenty-four  to  thirty  inches,  and  though  the  drains 
were  laid  somewhat  irregularly  and  imperfectly,  they 
had  been  maintained  in  good  action.  Mr.  Hammond, 
however,  suspecting  injury  to  be  still  done  to  the  plants 
and  the  soil  by  bottom  water,  which  he  knew  to  stagnate 
below  the  old  drains,  again  underdrained  the  piece  in 
1842  with  inch  pipes,  in  part  to  three  feet,  and  in  part 
to  four  feet  in  depth,  the  effect  proving  very  beneficial. 
The  old  drains  were  left  undisturbed,  but  thenceforth 
ceased  running,  the  whole  of  the  water  r  ising  below 
them  to  the  new  drains,  as  was  to  be  expected.  The 
distance  between  the  new  drains  is  twenty-six  feet,  their 
length  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  the  fall  identical, 
the  soil  clay.  The  experiment  was  made  on  two  drains 
adjoining  each  other,  i.  e.,  on  the  last  of  the  series  of 
the  three  feet,  and  the  first  of  the  series  of  the  four  feet 
drains.  The  sum  of  the  flow  from  these  two  drains,  at 
the  time  of  the  trial,  was  nine  hundred  and  seventy-five 
pounds  per  hour,  or  at  the  rate  of  nineteen  and  one-half 
tons  per  acre  in  twenty-four  hours ;  the  proportionate 
discharge,  therefore,  was  twelve  tons  by  the  four-feet, 
and  seven  and  one-half  tons  by  the  three-feet,  drain.  No 
springs  affected  the  results."* 

The  system  of  draining  recommended  by  Mr. 
Parkes  differs  from  that  of  Smith  of  Deanston,  in  the 
greater  distance  between  the  drains,  and  the  greater 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1844,  p.  154.    The  discharge  is  given  in  long  tons  of 
2,240  pounds. 


116  LAND   DRAINING. 

uniform  depth,  with  the  exclusive  use  of  pipe  tiles  (one 
inch  in  diameter  for  laterals),  covered  directly  with  the 
earth  thrown  from  the  ditch. 

In  1846  Mr.  Parkes  presented  further  details  in 
regard  to  his  system  of  draining,  in  a  lecture  before  the 
Eoyal  Agricultural  Society,  in  which  he  says,  in  regard 
to  his  own  practice  at  that  time  :  "  drains  are  being 
executed  at  depths  of  from  four  to  six  feet,  according  to 
soil  and  outfall,  and  at  distances  varying  from  twenty  to 
sixty-six  feet ;  complete  efficiency  being  the  end  studied, 
and  the  proof  of  such  efficiency  being  that,  after  a  due 
period  given  for  bringing  about  drainage  action  in  soils 
unused  to  it,  the  water  should  not  stand  higher,  or 
much  higher,  in  a  hole  dug  in  the  middle  between  a 
pair  of  drains,  than  the  level  of  those  drains."* 

He  gives  a  number  of  examples  illustrating  the 
advantages  of  deep  draining,  discusses  the  causes  of 
obstruction  in  drains,  including  deposits  of  oxide  of 
iron,  and  claims  that  pipe  tiles  should  alone  be  used,  on 
the  score  of  economy,  efficiency  and  durability.  Since 
that  time  but  little  has  been  ridded  to  our  knowledge  of 
principles,  or  methods  of  construction,  by  the  numerous 
books  on  draining  that  have  been  published. 

Mr.  John  Johnston,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  is  entitled 
to  the  credit  of  making  the  first  practical  demonstration, 
in  this  country,  of  the  advantages  of  thorough  draining. 
In  1835  he  imported  sample  tiles  (of  the  horseshoe 
form)  from  Scotland,  and  began  making  them  for  his 
own  use  by  hand,  as  all  draining  tiles  were  then  made. 
In  1838  handmade  tiles  were  manufactured  at  Water- 
ford,  N.  Y.,  and  sold  for  twenty-four  dollars  per 
thousand. 

EVOLUTION  OF  DRAIN  TILES. 

A  brief  description  of  the  various  forms  of  tiles  that 
have  been  used  in  draining,  and  the  reasons  that  have 

*  J.  R.  Ag.  Soc.,  1846,  p.  256. 


DISCOVERT  AND    INTENTION.  117 

led  to  a  succession  of  modified  forms,  and  the  final  adop- 
tion of  the  round,  or  pipe-tile,  as  the  only  satisfactory 
one,  will  serve  to  illustrate  some  of  the  principles 
involved  in  the  construction  of  permanent  and  efficient 
drains. 

From  the  house,  or  roofing  tiles,  used  by  the  ancients, 
to  prevent  the  washing  of  the  earth  in  the  bottom  of 
drains,  to  the  horseshoe  form,  made  by  bending  a  sheet 
of  clay  over  a  rounded  surface,  the  transition  is  quite 
natural.  The  horseshoe  form  was,  in  fact,  the  original 
type  of  draining  tile  which  came  into  common  use,  and 
it  was  the  only  form  practically  known  in  England  and 
the  United  States  for  several  years.  The  change  from 
the  roofing  tiles,  which  only  served  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tection from  washing,  to  the  horseshoe  tile,  which  fur- 
nished an  open  channel  for  the  water,  was  not,  however, 
made  at  once.  Bricks  of  a  peculiar  form,  for  building  a 
water  way,  or  hollowed  out  on  one  side,  to  provide  a 
channel  for  the  water,  were  used  in  many  localities,  par- 
ticularly for  the  larger  drains,  before  the  invention  or 
general  introduction  of  horseshoe  tiles,  that  now  appear 


FIG.  5.    DRAINING  BRICKS  AND  TILE,  LATTER  PART  OF  THE  LAST 
CENTURY. 

to  be  the  simplest  device  for  the  purpose.  In  the  time 
of  Elkington,  bricks  and  tiles  of  the  forms  shown  in  fig. 
5  were  used,  to  a  limited  extent,  but  they  were  too 
expensive  for  farm  drainage.  When  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  was  firm  they  were  used  as  represented  in  the  fig- 
ure, but  in  soft  ground,  the  right  and  left  hand  forms 


118  LAND   DRAINING. 

were  inverted,  and  another  placed  on  top  of  them,  to 
form  a  closed  channel. 

The  cheaper  and  simpler  horseshoe  tile,  fig.  6,  soon 
superseded  these  crude  and  clumsy  devices  for  conduct- 
ing drainage  water.  The 
defects  of  the  popular  horse- 
shoe tile  were  numerous, 
and  various  plans  for  cor- 
recting them  were  tried. 
When  there  was  but  little 
fall  in  the  course  of  the 
drain,  obstructions  were  of 

common    occurrence    from  Tm  , .   HolisESHOB  TILES ,  SHOW. 
the  rising  of  the  soft  earth        *NO  MANNER  OF  FORMING 
in  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  JUNCTIONS. 

from  the  hydrostatic  pressure  of  the  soil  water,  until 
the  tiles  were  completely  filled  with  earth,  or,  when  the 
fall  was  considerable,  the  tiles  were  undermined  by  the 
current  of  water,  and  displaced. 

From  the  mistaken  notion  that  the  tiles  settled  into 
the  bottom  of  the  drain,  from  the  pressure  above  them, 
and  thus  became  filled  with  earth,  the  lower  edges  of 
the  sides  of  the  tile  were  made  thicker,  forming  a  broad 
foot  for  the  tiles  to  rest  on.  This  was  a  common  form 
of  the  horseshoe  tile  in  this  country,  but  it  did  not  pre- 
vent the  drains  from  filling  with  earth,  and  it  could  not, 
of  course,  remedy  any  other  of  the  defects  of  this  form 
of  tile.  In  England,  the 

two  most  obvious  defects  of         Ifip      ^\        ^ 
this  form  of  tiles  were  both 
correct t'd   by  flat  sheets  of     ^= 
burned     clay,    or    soles,    as     Fm  7     HORSESHOE  TILES  AND 

they  were  popularly  called,          SOLES,  AFTER  HENRY 
laid,  as  represented  in  fig. 

7,  and  "tiles  and  soles,"  or  "tiles  and  covers,"  were 
quite  generally  adopted.  As  the  expense  and  inconven- 


DISCOVERY    AND    INVENTION.  119 

ience  in  handling  and  laying  were  increased  by  making 
the  tiles  in  two  pieces,  the  next  step  in  the  evolution  of 
tiles  was  naturally  suggested,  and  the  sole  was  made  a 
part  of  the  tile  itself,  as  represented  in  figs.  8  and  9, 
called  "horseshoe  pipe  tiles"  in  England,  and  D,  or  "flat- 
soled  tiles,"  in  the  United  States. 


FIG.  8.    HORSESHOE  PIPE  TILE,  FIG.  9.    FLAT-BOTTOMED  PIPE  TILE 
AFTER  HENRY  STEPHENS,  1848.  AFTER  FRENCH,  1859. 

This  form  of  tiles  was  claimed  to  be  a  decided 
improvement  on  the  horseshoe  tiles,  with  a  separate  sole, 
but  it  had  inherent  defects  that  more  than  offset  its 
assumed  advantages.  In  the  process  of  burning,  the 
curved,  or  upper  side  of  the  tiles,  was  found  to  shrink 
more  than  the  flat,  or  under  side,  and  when  they  were 
laid  on  a  true  grade  there  were,  more  or  less,  wide  open 
spaces  at  the  top  of  the  joint  between  two  tiles,  when 
their  soles  were  in  contact.  Silt  was  readily  admitted 
to  the  drain  through  these  open  joints,  and  its  accumu- 
lation on  the  broad  and  flat  bottom  of  the  tiles  was  a 
frequent  cause  of  obstruction.  In  the  old  form  of  tiles, 
with  separate  soles,  the  joints  between  the  tiles  were  not 
as  open,  and  obstructions  from  an  accumulation  of  silt 
were  not  as  liable  to  occur. 

The  broad  flat  bottom  in  both  kinds  of  tile  was, 
however,  a  defect  of  considerable  importance,  especially 
when  they  were  carelessly  laid.  When  the  fall  was 
slight,  and  but  little  water  was  running  in  the  drain, 
the  force  of  the  diffused  current  was  not  sufficient  to 
move  the  particles  of  silt  that  happened  to  gain  admis- 
sion at  the  imperfect  joints;  while,  with  the  same  fall, 
when  the  water  is  confined  to  a  narrow  direct  channel, 
the  silt  would  be  carried  along  and  discharged  at  the 


120 


LAtfD    DRAINING. 


outlet  of  the  drain.  Moreover,  in  laying  the  flat-bot- 
tomed tiles,  any  inequality  in  the  surface  on  which  they 
rested  tilted  them  to  one  side  or  the  other,  and  produced 
irregularities  in  the  bore  of  the  drain  that  diminished 
its  capacity,  by  checking  the  current  of  water. 

Judge  French  sums  up  the  defects  of  the  flat-bot- 
tomed tiles  as  follows  :  "On  the  whole,  solid  tiles  with 
flat-bottomed  passages  may  be  set  down  among  the 
inventions  of  the  adversary, 
even  of  the  horseshoe  form 
to  respect,  because  they  do 
not  admit  water  better 
than  round  pipes,  and  are  FIG  10  EGG.SHAPED  PIPE  TlLE 

not    united    by    a    Sole    on  AFTER  STEPHENS,  1848. 

which  the  ends  of  the  adjoining  tiles  rest.  They  com- 
bine the  faults  of  all  other  forms,  with  the  peculiar  vir- 


They  have  not  the  claims 


FIG.  11.     THE  SMALL  PIPE 

TILE  DRAIN,  AFTER 

STEPHENS,  1848. 


FIG.  12.    THE  TILE  AND  STONE 
DRAIN,  AFTER  STEPH- 
ENS, 1844. 


tues  of  none."  Tiles  with  an  oval,  or  egg-shaped  bore 
were  at  once  suggested  to  obviate  the  most  obvious 
defect  of  the  flat-soled  tiles. 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION.  12-1 

Henry  Stephens,  in  the  article  on  draining,  in  his 
Book  of  tlie  Farm,  published  in  1844,  does  not  mention 
the  "horseshoe  pipe,"  the  "egg-shaped  pipe,"  or  the 
"round-pipe"  tiles,  but  in  the  edition  of  1848  all  three 
forms  are  described,  and  of  these  he  says:  "the  most 
perfect  form  of  the  orifice  for  a  pipe- tile  is  egg-shaped 
(fig.  10) ;  the  narrow  end  of  the  egg  making  a  round  and 
narrow  sole,  the  water  will  run  upon  it  with  force,  and 
carry  any  sediment  before  it ;  while  the  broad  end  pro- 
vides a  larger  space  for  the  water  when  it  rises  to  the 
top  after  heavy  rains."  He  thinks  the  bottom  may  be 
thought  too  narrow  for  "security  against  sinking,"  but 
he  obviates  this  by  making  the  bottom  of  the  trench  nar- 
row and  tapering,  to  fit  the  tile,  as  represented  in  fig.  11. 
This  trench,  he  says,  may  be  filled  with  earth,  "but  the 
best  form  of  drain,  in  my  opinion,  is  constructed  with 
the  egg-shaped  tile  and  small  broken  stones,  or  clean 
large  gravel,"  filled  in  to  the  depth  of  twelve  inches,  as 


FIG.  13.    OVAL  SOLE  TILE,  AFTER  FRENCH,  1859. 

in  fig.  12,  the  horseshoe  and  sole  of  his  first  edition  (fig. 
12)  being  replaced  with  the  improved,  or  oval  form  of 
tile  of  fig.  11.  The  practical  difficulty  of  making  a 
trench,  as  in  fig.  11,  to  secure  a  reasonable  degree  of 
accuracy  in  the  alignment  of  the  tiles,  prevented  the 
general  adoption  of  this  method,  that  looked  so  well  on 
paper,  and,  moreover,  it  was  found  that  the  uneven 
shrinking  of  the  clay  in  burning  made  the  joints  quite 
as  imperfect  as  with  the  flat-bottomed  solid  sole.  To 
give  the  egg-shaped  tiles  a  more  stable  foundation  the 
sole  was  widened,  to  give  a  broad  foot,  as  shown  in 


122 


LAND    DRAINING. 


fig.  13,  but  even  this  did  not  prove  to  be  an  advantage. 
Judge  French  says  these  sole-tiles  are  "much  used  in 
America,  more,  indeed,  than  any  other,  except  perhaps, 
the  horseshoe  tile ;  probably  because  the  first  manufac- 
turers fancied  them  the  best,  and  offered  no  others  in 
'the  market."  Theoretically,  this  appeared  to  be  a  per- 
fect form  of  tiles,  but  practically  they  were  open  to 
most  of  the  objections  to  the  D  sole  tiles,  as  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  lay  them  to  secure  uniformity  in  the  bore  of 
the  drain,  and  the  open  joints  at  the  top  readily 
admitted  silt. 

Stephen*?  Boole  of  the  Farm  was  for  many  years 
looked  upon  as  an  authority  on  all  subjects  relating  to 
agriculture,  and  his  directions  for  draining  were  closely 
followed  by  writers  on  that  subject,  notwithstanding 


FIG.  14.    AFTER  DEMPSEY,  1869. 


FIG.  15.    AFTER  DEMPSEY,  1869. 


the  better  methods  advocated  by  Parkes.  As  late  as 
1869,  an  English  writer*  recommends  the  form  of 
drains  represented  in  figs.  14  and  15,  and  the  latter  he 
considers  "  the  most  complete  and  undoubtedly  perma- 
nent form  of  drain." 


*Deinpsey,  On  Drainage,  p.  128. 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION.  123 

There  can  be  no  excuse  for  these  survivals  of  igno- 
rance, as  the  best  farmers  had  been  practicing  better 
methods  for  more  than  twenty-five  years.  The  influ- 
ence of  Stephens  and  his  followers  kept  alive  the 
unfounded  prejudices  against  round  pipe  tiles  and 
retarded  their  general  introduction  as  the  only  perfect 
form,  as  Parkes  had  clearly  demonstrated.  Stephens* 
devotes  nearly  two  pages  to  an  enumeration  of  the 
"practically  objectionable"  defects  of  round  pipes,  and 
to  remedy  some  of  the  gratuitous  difficulties  his  fancy 
suggests,  he  figures  a  number  of  devices  for  connecting 
the  ends  of  the  tiles,  among  which  is  the  perforated  col- 
lar, fig.  16,  and 
he  fully  indorses 
the  popular  no- 
tion that  water 

FIG.  16.     PERFORATED    COLLAR   TO    CONNECT  _nT|     n  4.    rpp^  •]„ 
ROUND  PIPE  TILES,  AFTER  STEPHENS,  1848.  •> 

gain  access  to  a 

round  pipe  drain.  With  a  better  knowledge  of  correct 
principles,  and  improved  methods  of  construction,  we 
can  now  safely  lay  down  the  rule  that  round  tiles  should 
alone  be  used,  as  they  have  none  of  the  defects  of  other 
forms,  and  they  can  be  laid  with  greater  accuracy  and 
rapidity,  and,  on  the  whole,  make  much  the  best  drain. 
Collars  have  frequently  been  looked  upon  as  desira- 
ble by  modern  writers,  especially  when  small  tiles  are 
used,  but  they  serve  no  useful  purpose,  increase  the 
expense,  and  they  are  now  seldom  used,  as  a  better  and 
more  reliable  drain  can  be  made  without  them. 

TILE  DRAINING  IMPLEMENTS. 

The  draining  tools  recommended  from  time  to  time 
by  different  writers  have,  with  few  exceptions,  proved  to 
be  worthless,  and  it  mav  be  well  to  notice  some  of  the 


*A  Manual  of  Practical  Draining,  1848,  pp.  91  92. 


124 


LAND   DRAINING. 


obsolete  forms,  as  well  as  those  that  have  a  practical 
value  in  economizing  labor. 

The  importance  of  diminishing,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  amount  of  earth  moved,  by  narrowing  the  trench 
towards  the  bottom,  was  at  once  recognized,  when  exten- 
sive    draining   opera- 
tions were  in  progress, 
and  special  tools  were 
invented  for  that  pur- 
pose.    The  really  im- 
proved implements 


FIG.  17.    DRAINING  SPADES. 


were,  in  most  cases, 
the  outcome  of  the  re- 
sults of  experience  in 
the  digging,  and  fin- 
ishing of  the  bottom 
of  narrow  trenches, 
but,  unfortunately, 
many  of  the  draining  tools  placed  in  the  market,  and 
figured  in  works  on  draining,  were  evidently  invented 

by  persons  who  had  no 
practical  know^dge  of 
what  was  required  to  ac- 
complish the  end  in  view, 
and  they  have  proved  to  be 
useless.  Spades  of  dif- 
ferent widths,  and  some- 
what tapering  in  the  blade, 
to  be  used  in  succession  to 
narrow  the  trench,  were 
among  the  first  improve- 
ments that  proved  to  be 
In  fig. 

17  is  represented  the  spades 
used  in  making  the  trench  for  flat-bottomed  tiles,  and 
a  slight  change  in  form,  fig.  18,  was  adopted  in  laying 


FIG.  18.    ROUND-POINTED  DRAINING  of  practical  value. 
SPADES. 


DISCOVERY   AND    INVENTION. 


125 


round,  or  pipe  tiles,  the  rounded  point  aiding  in  forming 

a  groove  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  in  which  the  tiles 
are  bedded.  The  draining  spades  now  in 
use  for  cutting  the  lower  part  of  a  narrow 
trench,  are  of  this  same  pattern,  but  the 
blade  is  made  longer,  which  increases  their 
efficiency. 

From  the  tapering  form  of  these  spades, 
they  cannot  be  used  to  throw  out  the  earth 
from  the  narrow  trench  which  is  cut  with 
them,  and  scoops  were  invented  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  for  smoothing  the  bottom  of  the 
trench,  and  preparing  a  suitable  bed  for  the 
tiles. 

In  figs.  19  and  21  are 
two  forms  of  scoop,  figured 
by  Stephens  in  his  Boole  of 
the  Farm  in  1844.  The  draw, 
or  pull  scoop,  fig.  19,  was  in- 
tended to  be  used  for  smooth- 
ing the  bottom  of  the  ditch 

FIG.  19.  PULL  for  flat-bottomed  and  horse- 

DKAIN  SCOOP.  Sh0e  tiles,  and  it  was  changed 

to  the  form  represented  in  fig.  20,  for 

laying  round  pipe  tiles.     It  will  be  seen 

that  earth  cannot  readily  be  thrown  out 

of   the  ditch  with  this   form  of  scoop, 

and  the  push  scoop,  fig.  21,  was  invented 

for   that    purpose.      These    scoops   are, 

however,    practically    worthless    in    the 

hands  of  an  ordinary  workman ;  the  pull 

scoops,  unless  very  heavy,  tremble,  and 

are  not  readily  guided;  the  push  scoops  DRAIN  SCOOP,  FOR 

are  heavy  on  the  point  when  loaded,  and     ROUND  TlLES- 

roll  in  the  hands  when  raised  to  the  surface  of  the 

ground,  and  from  the  attachment  of  the  shank  at  the 


126 


LAND   DRAINING. 


end  of  the  blade  they  are  easily  broken.  On  account 
of  these,  and  many  other  defects  which  might  be  enu- 
merated, they  have  not  been  used,  to  any 
extent,  in  draining.  After  a  thorough  trial 
of  these  scoops  in  a  variety  of  soils,  at  the 
Michigan  Agricultural  College,  several  years 
ago,  they  were  found  to  be  useless, 
and  finally  consigned  to  the  mu- 
seum of  obsolete  implements.  As 
a  scoop  was  evidently  needed  to 
supplement  the  draining  spades  in 
excavating  narrow  trenches,  I  suc- 
ceeded, after  a  number  of  experi- 
ments, in  inventing  a  combined 
pull  and  push  scoop,  that  was  free 
from  the  defects  of  the  old  forms, 
a  description  and  figure  of  which 
were  published  in  the  Report  of  the 
Michigan  Board  of  Agriculture  for 
1873.  After  an  experience  of  sev- 
eral years,  in  all  kinds  of  soils,  this 
scoop  (fig.  22)  has  proved  to  be  a 
satisfactory  tool,  in  every  respect, 
for  removing  earth  from  the  trench 
and  preparing  a  bed  for  the  tiles ; 
as  it  is  light  and  well  balanced,  and,  from  the 
FlG^Af^SH  position  of  the  shank  in  the  middle  of  the 
SCOOP,  blade,  it  is  much  stronger  than  the  old  forms. 
An  improved  method  of  using  this  scoop  will  be  given 
in  the  chapter  on  construction.  A  set  of  draining  tools, 
copied  from  Gisborne's  Agriculture,  1854  (fig.  23),  fur- 
nishes a  good  illustration  of  forms  that  cannot  be  used 
with  advantage.  The  scoops  and  the  tile-layer  are 
intended  for  use  from  the  banks  of  the  ditch,  but  they 
are  awkward  and  heavy  tools,  and  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  lay  tiles  with  them  on  a  reasonably  true  grade. 


DISCOVERY  AND  INVENTION. 


FIG.  23.    OBSOLETE  DRAINING  TooLi. 


128 


LAND   DRAINING. 


In  directions  for  "  opening  the  ditches,"  in  Drain- 
ing for  Profit  and  for  Healthy  Col.  Waring  gives  a  fig- 
ure of  a  "finishing  scoop"  (fig.  24),  and  of  a  finishing 
spade,  (fig.  25),  which,  according  to 
my  own  experience,  are  quite  as  defec- 
tive as  the  tools  in  the  preceding  figure. 
The  curved  sole  of  the  scoop  is  not  the 
best  form  for  jointing  a  true 
grade,  and  the  curved  shoul- 
der and  square  point  of  the 
spade  do  not  recommend  it 
as  the  best  tool  for  making  a 
narrow  cut  for  round  tiles. 
Modified  forms  of  my  drain- 
ing scoop,  which  have  been 
made  and  placed  on  the  mar- 
ket, are  represented  in  figs. 
26  and  27.  They  are,  how- 
ever, too  heavy  for  the  in- 
tended purpose  ;  the  sides  of 
the  form,  fig.  26,  are  too  high 
for  convenient  use  in  adhe- 
sive soils,  and  there  appears 
to  be  no  practical  advantage 
in  the  adjustable  arrange- 
ment of  the  blade,  repre- 
sented in  fig.  27,  while  it 
increases  the  weight  of  the 
scoop,  which  is  a  serious  ob- 
jection. The  shovel  scoop,  Fl«-  25-  FIN- 

,  .,       ,  .  ISHING 

described    in    chapter    nine,      SPADE. 
FIG.  24.    FINISHING  for  five  or  six  inch  tiles,  and  the  lighter 

£»porvp 

and  simpler  form  of  better  proportions, 
figs.  22  and  30,  for  smaller  sizes,  will  be  found,  in  every 
respect,  much  more  convenient  and  satisfactory  than 
these  heavier  implements. 


DISCOVEKY   AND    INVENTION". 


129 


The  large  handles  and  heavy  blades  of  the  so-called 
improved  draining  scoops  in  the  market  are  defects  that 
materially  diminish  their  value,  without  any  compensat- 
ing advantages.  A  few  ounces  of  unnecessary  weight  in 
a  tool  with  a  long  handle,  to  move  earth  in  the  bottom 


FIG.  26.    DRAINING  SCOOP.      FIG.  27.  ADJUSTABLE  DRAINING  SCOOP. 


of  the  ditch,  will  be  found  a  severe  tax  upon  the  muscu- 
lar energies  of  the  workman  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
and  diminish  his  efficiency  accordingly.  The  weight 
must  be  raised  on  the  long  arm  of  the  lever,  and  the 
effective  force  required  to  lift  it  is  proportionately 
increased. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
LOCATION  AND  PLANS  OF  FARM  DRAINS. 

To  secure  efficiency  and  economy  in  the  construc- 
tion of  farm  drains  the  work  should  be  planned,  and  the 
location  of  the  drains  decided  upon  over  the  entire  area 
that  may  need  draining,  in  accordance  with  a  definite 
and  well-matured  system,  in  which  every  condition  that 
may  influence  the  results  has  been  fully  considered  and 
provided  for.  When  but  part  of  the  work  can  be  done 
in  a  single  season,  the  advantages  of  a  complete  plan  for 
the  drainage  of  all  lands  that  can  discharge  water  at  a 
common  outlet,  before  any  drains  are  made,  must  be 
obvious,  as  each  line  of  tiles  laid  will  then  form  a  con- 
sistent link  in  the  general  system,  and  the  losses  that 
are  likely  to  arise  from  a  change  of  plan  in  the  progress 
of  the  work  will  be  avoided.  There  are  certain  princi- 
ples to  be  kept  in  mind  in  planning  a  system  of  drainage 
that  it  may  be  well  to  notice  before  discussing  other 
details. 

Direction  of  Drains. — In  the  first  place,  all  drains 
should  run  directly  down  the  slope,  in  the  line  of  steep- 
est descent,  in  order  to  secure  the  greatest  efficiency  in 
the  discharge  of  water,  in  connection  with  the  widest 
distance  between  the  drains  that  can  be  made,  and  at 
the  same  time  secure  thorough  drainage  over  the  entire 
area  to  be  drained.  Any  considerable  variation  from 
this  rule  should  only  be  made  for  good  and  sufficient 
reasons,  to  secure  other  advantages  that  fully  compen- 
sate for  any  faults  that  may  arise  in  deviating  from  the 
most  direct  course. 

130 


LOCATION  AND   PLANS  OF  DRAINS.  131 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  when  parallel  drains  are 
laid  directly  across  the  slope,  a  drain  can  receive  no 
water  from  the  space  immediately  below  it,  and  that  it 
must  receive  water  from  the  whole  width  of  the  space 
between  it  and  the  next  drain  above.  Moreover,  when 
the  slope  of  the  field  is  considerable,  these  transverse 
drains  allow  water  to  escape  at  the  joints  of  the  tiles 
and  wet  the  soil  of  the  space  below  them,  and  thus  add 
to  the  duty  of  the  next  drain.  Many  instances  have 
come  under  my  observation,  where  water  from  springs 
has  escaped  from  drains  laid  across  the  slope,  and  satu- 
rated land  which  before  was  comparatively  free  from 
drainage  water,  the  drains  only  serving  to  transfer  the 
springs  from  one  locality  to  another. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  drains  run  directly  down 
the  slope,  they  receive  water  from  but  one-half  of  the 
space  between  adjacent  drains ;  impervious  strata  that 
bring  water  to  the  surface  to  form  springs,  are  cut  across  ; 
the  water  table  is  uniformly  lowered;  and  the  flow  of 
water  from  one  drain  to  another  does  not  take  place. 
The  drains  can  then  be  laid  at  wider  intervals,  and  the 
cost  of  thorough  draining  materially  diminished.  Par- 
allel drains  at  equal  distances  are  desirable,  but  when 
the  slope  of  the  field  is  not  uniformly  in  the  same  direc- 
tion they  cannot  be  so  made,  and  at  the  same  time  run 
directly  down  the  slope  in  the  line  of  the  most  rapid  fall. 
Good  judgment  will  then  be  required  to  secure  a  happy 
mean  between  the  conflicting  requirements,  that  will 
give  the  best  results,  but,  as  a  general  rule,  the  line  of 
greatest  descent  should  be  the  dominant  factor  in  deter- 
mining the  location  of  the  drains. 

Main  Drains. — A  sufficient  outlet  must  be  secured 
for  the  main  drain,  and  it  should  then  be  laid  in  the 
lowest  ground,  without  any  abrupt  changes  in  fall,  to 
check  the  flow  of  water  passing  through  it,  and  it  may 
be  necessary  to  lay  it  at  a  greater  depth  from  the  sur- 


132  LAKD   DRAINING. 

face  in  some  places,  to  secure  the  desired  uniformity  in 
its  slope  or  rate  of  fall,  and,-  if  possibb,  there  should  be 
an  increase  in  fall  towards  the  outlet.  When  the  fall  in 
the  upper  course  of  a  drain  is  considerable,  and  but  a 
slight  fall  can  be  secured  in  its  lower  course,  a  larger 
tile  will  be  required  where  the  fall  is  diminished,  to 
carry  the  water  received  from  above,  and  prevent  it  from 
being  forced  out  at  the  joints  by  the  pressure  from  the 
head  of  water  in  the  upper  course  of  the  drain,  and  thus 
undermining  and  displacing  the  tiles. 

If  the  valley  through  which  the  main  is  to  be  laid 
is  broad  and  nearly  level  from  side  to  side,  a  sub-main 
should  be  laid  on  each  side  of  it,  near  the  foot  of  the 
slope,  to  avoid  the  rapid  decrease  in  the  fall  of  the  lat- 
eral drains,  that  would  be  made  if  they  were  continued 
to  the  middle  of  the  valley,  and  the  space  between  the 
sub-mains  may  then  be  drained  by  laterals  of  smaller 
tiles.  When  a  change  in  the  direction  of  a  main,  or  sub- 
main,  is  necessary,  it  should  be  made  gradually,  or  with 
a  gentle  curve,  as  abrupt  angles  check  the  current  of 
water  and  materially  diminish  the  capacity  of  the  drain. 
This  fact  should  be  kept  in  mind  in  all  cases,  but  in 
the  upper  course  of  laterals,  laid  with  two  inch  tiles, 
this  is  not  as  important,  as  they  are  not  as  likely  to 
run  full. 

Depth  of  Drains. — It  is  important  that  the  depth 
at  which  drains  are  to  be  laid  should  be  decided  upon 
before  laying  out,  or  determining  their  location  in  the 
field.  Those  who  have  had  no  experience  in  draining 
land  are  liable  to  fall  into  the  error  of  laying  the  tiles 
too  near  the  surface,  from  mistaken  notions  of  economy. 
Practically  the  depth  of  retentive  soils,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  limited  by  the  surface  of  the  water  table,  and  the 
drains  should,  therefore,  be  laid  at  sufficient  depth  to 
secure  a  free  range  of  root  distribution  throughout  the 
largest  mass  of  soil  that  can  be  made  available,  with 
reasonable  economy  in  construction. 


LOCATION   AND   PLANS   OF   DRAINS.  133 

The  roots  of  nearly  all  of  our  cultivated  crops  pen- 
etrate the  soil,  under  favorable  conditions,  to  the  depth 
of,  at  least,  four  feet,  and  this  may  safely  be  recom- 
mended as  a  desirable  depth  for  laterals,  while  the 
mains,  if  possible,  should  be  laid  at  least  their  own 
diameter  deeper.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  drains 
four  feet  in  depth  have  a  number  of  advantages  over 
those  that  are  shallower,  that  must  more  than  compen- 
sate for  a  considerable  increase  in  cost,  but  it  does  not 
follow,  however,  that  the  draining  of  a  field  to  the  depth 
of  four  feet  is  necessarily  more  expensive  than  draining 
to  the  depth  of  three  feet. 

On  the  ground  of  efficiency,  it  appears  that  when 
heavy  rainfalls  occur  after  a  season  of  drouth,  the  dis- 
charge of  water  begins  sooner  and  continues  longer ;  a 
larger  mass  of  soil,  with  its  supplies  of  nutritive  mate- 
rials, is  made  available  for  growing  crops  by  the  pro- 
cesses of  metabolism;  a  wider  range  of  root  distribu- 
tion is  secured ;  and  there  is  an  increased  capacity  for 
holding  capillary  water  for  the  purposes  of  vegetation  in 
time  of  drouths.  The  extreme  climatic  conditions  of 
excessive  rainfall  and  intense  drouth  are,  therefore, 
more  completely  corrected,  and  a  greater  uniformity  in 
productiveness  may  reasonably  be  expected.  The  item 
of  economy  in  the  construction  of  four-foot  drains  will 
be  considered  in  the  next  paragraph. 

Distance  Between  Drains. — No  absolute  rule 
can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  proper  distance  between 
drains,  to  secure  the  best  results  at  the  least  expense. 
Good  judgment  in  the  application  of  general  principles 
will  be  found  the  best  guide  in  each  particular  case. 
The  conditions  that  have  an  influence  in  determining 
the  most  desirable  distance  between  drains  are,  the 
depth  at  which  they  are  laid,  the  character  of  the  soil, 
and  the  amount  of  rainfall  that  is  likely  to  occur  in  sin- 
gle showers,  or  within  a  few  days,  which  is  of  greater 
importance  than  the  annual  rainfall. 


134  LAHD  DRAINING. 

In  order  to  secure  the  same  efficiency  in  removing 
water  from  the  soil,  drains  but  three  feet  deep  must  be 
laid  nearer  together  than  when  they  are  four  feet  deep, 
and  the  expense  of  draining  a  given  area  may,  therefore, 
be  less  with  the  deeper  drains,  as  the  cost  of  digging  the 
additional  foot  in  depth  of  the  four-foot  drains  will  be 
compensated  for  by  a  saving  in  tiles,  and  in  the  number 
of  ditches  that  are  required.  On  the  score  of  economy, 
as  well  as  efficiency,  the  four-foot  drains  will  undoubt- 
edly prove  most  satisfactory.  Mr.  Parkes'  table  21, 
(page  114),  may  be  profitably  studied  in  this  connection. 

The  character  of  the  soil  should  be  carefully  studied, 
and  its  behavior,  as  the  drains  are  laid,  should  be  closely 
observed.  In  the  most  retentive  soils,  when  the  drains 
are  four  feet  deep,  it  will  seldom  be  necessary  to  make 
the  distance  between  them  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet,  and  in  many  soils,  that  need  draining,  a  distance  of 
fifty  to  sixty  feet  may  give  satisfactory  results.  The 
amount  of  rainfall  should  be  considered,  in  connection 
with  other  conditions,  as  it  may  be  of  assistance,  in 
some  cases,  in  deciding  upon  the  most  desirable  distance. 
The  depth  of  drains  is,  however,  a  more  important  fac- 
tor in  preventing  injury  to  crops  from  excessive  rainfall 
than  the  distance  between  them. 

Map  of  the  System  of  Drainage. — In  all  cases  it 
will  be  desirable  to  make  a  map  of  the  field,  or  the  area 
to  be  drained,  on  which  the  location  and  depth  of  every 
drain  is  accurately  recorded.  The  general  details  of  the 
map  should  be  in  black  ink,  an:l  the  proposed  drains 
laid  down  with  dotted  red  lines.  As  fast  as  the  drains 
are  finished  the  dotted  line  can  readily  be  changed  to  a 
continuous  red  line,  and  a  record  may  thus  be  conven- 
iently kept  of  the  progress  of  the  work.  When  the 
work  is  not  all  done  in  a  single  season,  the  importance 
of  an  accurate  map  of  the  drains  already  made,  as  a 
means  of  definitely  locating  them,  in  order  to  form  June- 


LOCATION    AND    PLANS   OF   DKAINS.  135 

tions  with  the  drains  in  process  of  construction,  will  be 
obvious.  When  the  drains  are  all  completed  it  may  be 
necessary  to  find  a  particular  drain,  in  case  of  obstruc- 
tion, or  for  other  reasons,  and  the  map  will  then  be 
found  a  great  convenience  and  a  saving  of  labor. 

Locating  Drains  and  Making  the  Map. — There 
are  two  methods  of  locating  the  drains  and  plotting 
them  on  the  map,  each  of  which  has  its  advantages. 
An  engineer,  to  secure  accuracy  and  conformity  to  a 
definite  plan  in  all  parts  of  the  work,  would  make  a 
topographical  survey  of  the  area  to  be  drained,  by  taking 
levels  at  frequent  and  regular  intervals  over  the  field, 
which  would  be  represented  on  the  map.  by  contour 
lines,  or  lines  of  equal  elevation,  to  indicate  the  shape  of 
the  surface.  These  would  serve  as  guides  in  locating 
the  drains  so  that  they  would  run  directly  down  the 
slope,  or  perpendicular  to  the  contour  lines,  and  the 
depth  and  rate  of  fall  would  be  marked  on  the  line  of 
each  drain.  The  entire  system  of  drainage  would,  there- 
fore, be  first  laid  down  on  the  map,  and  the  drains  in 
the  field  would  be  staked  out  from  this  record,  as  the 
work  of  construction  was  carried  on.  There  are  cases, 
perhaps,  in  which  the  expense  involved  in  this  method 
would  be  saved  in  economy  of  construction,  if  the  engi- 
neer making  the  surveys  was  an  expert  in  land  draining. 

Farmers  who  lay  out  the  drains  on  their  own  farms, 
and  carry  on  the  work  of  construction  as  labor  can  be 
spared  for  the  purpose,  will,  however,  prefer  a  simpler 
and  less  expensive  method,  which  answers  quite  as  well, 
if  a  reasonable  degree  of  intelligence  or  common  sense  is 
exercised  in  its  application.  Instead  of  making  a  plan 
on  paper  to  serve  as  a  guide  in  the  field,  the  drains  will 
be  first  staked  out  in  the  field  from  time  to  time,  as 
required  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  they  can  then 
be  plotted  on  a  map  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  serve  all 
practical  purposes  of  a  convenient  and  permanent  record, 


136  LAND   DRAINING. 

without  making  use  of  ,any  expensive  surveying  or  engi- 
neering instruments. 

All  that  is  absolutely  required  in  the  field  work  is 
the  means  of  accurately  measuring  the  lines  of  drains, 
and  their  distance  from  certain  land  marks.  A  survey- 
or's chain,  or  tape,  will  be  found  convenient,  but  in 
their  absence  a  rod  pole,  divided  in  feet  and  inchea,  will 
serve  the  purpose  of  providing  the  data  for  making  a 
record  of  the  work  on  the  map.  The  cheap  measuring 
tapes  in  common  use  should  be  discarded,  as  they  are 
not  always  accurate,  and  if  wet  they  are  liable  to  stretch 
and  vary  in  length,  and  the  results  obtained  with  them 
are  often  misleading. 

When  the  surface  of  the  field  is  undulating  there 
will  be  no  difficulty,  in  most  cases,  in  deciding  upon  the 
location  and  course  of  the  proposed  drains  by  the  eye 
alone,  without  taking  levels  with  an  instrument,  but 
the  precaution  should  always  be  taken  when  the  fall  is 
slight,  to  look  over  the  proposed  line  from  both  ends  of 
it  before  deciding  upon  its  exact  location,  as  appearances 
are  sometimes  deceitful  if  we  look  in  one  direction  only. 
A  farmer  who  is  familiar  with  his  fields,  and  observes 
the  direction  water  flows  over  the  surface  in  the  spring, 
will  seldom  hesitate  in  regard  to  the  direction  of  the 
slope  and  the  course  of  lines  running  directly  down  hill. 
In  cases  of  doubt  as  to  the  fall,  on  land  that  is  nearly 
level,  a  simple  and  convenient  method  of  determining 
the  slope,  or  grade,  of  the  drain,  will  be  given  in  the 
chapter  on  construction. 

Writers  on  draining  have,  with  few  exceptions, 
given  directions  for  digging  and  finishing  the  ditches 
throughout  their  entire  length  before  any  tiles  are  laid, 
and  when  this  is  done,  directions  are  given  to  lay  the 
first  tiles  at  the  upper  end  of  the  drain  and  continue  the 
work  towards  the  outlet.  This  method  is,  however, 
impracticable,  if  there  is  water  running  in  the  ditch,  or 


LOCATION   AND   PLANS   OF   DRAINS.  137 

if  quicksand  is  found  anywhere  in  its  course,  and  in  all 
cases  better  work  can  be  done  by  beginning  at  the  outlet 
to  lay  the  tiles,  and  the  ditch  should  only  be  finished  as 
the  tiles  are  laid.  The  main  drain  should  always  be  laid 
first,  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  the  discharge  of  water  that 
may  be  running  in  the  ditches  in  the  progress  of  the 
work  of  construction. 

In  laying  out  and  mapping  the  drains,  attention 
will,  therefore,  be  first  directed  to  the  main,  and  the 
laterals,  or  branches,  will  then  follow  in  the  order  of 
their  importance.  Haying  placed  stakes  in  the  field  to 
mark  the  line  of  the  main  drain,  its  place  on  the  map 
may  be  determined,  as  follows.  To  facilitate  the 
description  of  the  different  steps  in  the  process,  let  us 
suppose  a  case  in  which  the  main  drain  crosses  the  north 
line  of  the  field  at,  or  near,  the  outlet. 

Set  a  stake  marked  A  at  the  point  where  the  drain 
crosses  or  intersects  the  north  line  of  the  field,  and  deter- 
mine its  position  by  measuring  on  the  boundary  line  of 
the  field,  in  either  direction,  as  may  be  most  convenient, 
to  the  corner  of  the  field,  or  to  some  permanent  object, 
and  make  a  record  of  this  distance  and  position  of  the 
stake  on  the  map,  which  should,  of  course,  be  drawn  to 
a  definite  scale.  Then  set  a  stake  marked  B  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  proposed  drain,  or  at  the  point  where 
a  change  in  direction  will  be  necessary.  Measure  the 
distance  from  A  to  B,  and  to  determine  the  exact  course 
take  the  range  of  the  two  stakes,  and  ascertain  where 
the  line  between  them  would,  if  continued,  strike  the 
opposite  side  of  the  field,  and  drive  a  stake  marked  ~b  to 
mark  the  place.  The  position  of  b  can  now  be  deter- 
mined by  its  distance  from  the  corner  of  the  field,  or 
some  permanent  object,  measured  on  the  south  line  of 
the  field,  as  was  done  to  fix  the  point  A  on  the  north 
line.  The  drain  A-B  can  now  be  plotted  on  the  map 
by  marking  the  point  A  on  the  north  boundary  of  the 


138  LAND    DBAINDSTG. 

field,  and  the  point  b  on  the  south  boundary,  and  a  rule 
touching  the  two  points  will  give  the  course  and  position 
of  the  drain.  The  point  B  is  then  fixed  by  laying  off 
the  proper  distance  from  A  on  this  lice. 

If  the  main  drain  is  now  to  be  continued  in  a  differ- 
ent direction,  place  a  stake  G  at  the  end  of  the  next 
course,  ascertain  where  the  line  B-C,  if  continued, 
would  intersect  the  boundary  of  the  field,  by  taking  the 
range  of  the  two  stakes,  and  mark  the  place  with  a  stake 
c,  the  position  of  which  is  determined  by  its  distance 
from  #,  or  from  any  other  known  point,  as  in  fixing  the 
position  of  A  and  b.  In  plotting,  place  the  rule  on  the 
map  touching  the  points  B  and  c,  and  measure  on  the 
line  indicated  the  proper  distance  from  B  to  C. 

To  locate  the  laterals  proceed  in  the  same  way,  tak- 
ing as  the  starting  point  their  junction  with  the  main 
drain.  If,  for  example,  they  are  branches  of  the  drain 
A-B,  fix  the  point  of  junction  by  measuring  the  distance 
from  A,  or,  if  on  the  line  B-C,  determine  the  distance 
of  the  starting  point  from  B.  The  laterals  are  then 
plotted  on  the  map,  by  measuring  their  length  from  the 
main,  and  fixing  their  course,  by  ascertaining  the  point 
at  which  the  line,  if  continued,  would  intersect  the 
boundary  of  the  field,  and  proceed  as  before.  If  there- 
are  several  parallel  laterals,  the  course  of  one  may  be 
fixed  as  above,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  a  base  line  from 
which  the  others  may  be  laid  out  or  located. 

The  whole  process  of  locating  and  mapping  the 
drains  by  this  empirical  method  is  so  simple,  that  any 
one  of  average  intelligence  should  be  able  to  perform  the 
work  without  any  technical  knowledge  of  surveying  <;r 
engineering ;  and  if  the  measurements  are  accurately 
made  and  the  figures  representing  distances  are  entered 
on  the  map  in  their  proper  place,  the  record  will  be 
sufficiently  accurate,  even  if  the  greatest  exactness  is 
not  secured  in  drafting  the  lines  on  the  map.  A  con- 


LOCATION   AND    PLANS   OF    DRAINS.  139 

venient  scale  for  the  map  is  fifty  feet  to  the  inch,  but  a 
scale  of  one  hundred  feet  to  the  inch  will  give  satisfac- 
tory results  when  there  are  but  few  drains  to  be  recorded. 
As  the  drains  are  all  located  and  staked  out  in  the  field, 
the  map  may  consist  simply  of  an  outline  of  the  field 
drawn  to  a  definite  scale,  on  which  the  lines  of  drains, 
as  decided  upon,  may  be  drawn,  with  figures  represent- 
ing all  distances,  and  letters  or  numbers  to  indicate  each 
particular  drain. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
QUALITY  AND  SIZE  OF  TILES. 

There  are  a  number  of  particulars  in  regard  to  the 
selection  of  tiles,  that  should  receive  careful  attention, 
as  the  best  for  the  purpose  are  the  cheapest,  if  the  drain- 
ing of  land  is  made,  as  it  should  be,  a  permanent 
improvement. 

Round  Tiles. — In  describing  the  different  kinds 
of  tiles  the  conclusion  was  reached  that  round  tiles 
should  be  exclusively  used,  as  they  have  none  of  the 
defects  of  other  forms,  and  it  may  be  well  to  notice  more 
particularly  some  of  their  most  important  advantages. 
When  but  little  water  is  running  in  a  drain  of  round 
tiles,  it  is  confined  to  a  narrow  channel,  and  the  force  of 
the  current  is  thereby  increased,  so  that  obstructions 
from  silt  are  not  likely  to  occur.  The  ends  of  the  tiles 
vary  but  little  from  a  right  angle  to  the  axis,  and  close- 
fitting  joints  can  be  secured  in  laying  them,  by  turning 
them  in  their  bed,  if  necessary,  as  it  is  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference which  side  of  the  cylinder  is  up.  When  laid  in 
the  groove  prepared  for  them  by  a  draining  scoop  of 
proper  size,  they  are  not  liable  to  be  displaced  by  firmly 


140  LAND   DRAINING. 

packing  the  soil  with  which  they  are  covered.  They 
can  be  laid  more  rapidly  on  a  true  grade  than  any  other 
form  of  tile,  which  is  a  matter  of  importance  where 
there  is  but  little  fall. 

Quality  of  Tiles. — Tiles  should  be  smooth  and 
straight,  with  a  uniform  bore,  and  well  burned,  so  that 
they  give  a  clear  ring  when  struck  with  a  hammer.  A 
permanent  drain  cannot  be  made  with  soft  and  porous 
tiles,  as  they  readily  yield  to  pressure  when  saturated 
with- water,  and  when  near  the  outlet  they  crumble  in 
pieces,  from  the  action  of  frost.  On  the  other  hand, 
tiles  that  have  been  "melted,"  or  "over-burned"  in  the 
kiln,  are  to  be  avoided,  as  they  shrink  more  than  well- 
burned  tiles,  and  the  bore  is,  therefore,  contracted,  and 
they  are  usually  more  or  less  warped,  so  that  they  can- 
not be  accurately  laid  in  the  trench.  If  used  at  all, 
they  should  be  placed  at  the  upper  end  of  laterals,  where 
they  cannot  check  the  current  from  any  considerable 
length  of  the  drain  above  them.  On  the  whole,  it  is 
better,  in  buying  tiles,  to  reject  the  over -burned  as 
defective,  as  they  not  only  impair  the  efficiency  and 
durability  of  a  drain  by  their  contracted  bore,  but  they 
add  to  the  expense  of  laying  them,  from  the  difficulty  of 
matching  them  to  form  good  joints,  and  keeping  a  rea- 
sonably uniform  grade  in  their  course. 

The  weakest  link  in  a  chain  is  the  measure  of  its 
strength,  and  the  most  defective  tile  in  a  drain  is  an 
index  of  its  reliability  throughout  its  entire  course. 
Tile  drains  should  be  made  on  the  plan  of  the  "Deacon's 
One  Hoss  Shay,"  each  part  being  as  perfect  as  every 
other  part,  with  no  weak  place  to  give  out.  Glazed 
tiles  are  now  made  in  some  localities,  and  they  are 
always  to  be  preferred  when  they  can  be  obtained  at  the 
oame  price  as  the  unglazed  pipes. 

How  Does  Water  Enter  Tile  Drains? — The 
popular  notion  that  porous  tiles  are  necessary  to  insure 


QUALITY   AKD   SIZE    OF   TILES.  141 

the  free  access  of  water  to  a  drain  is  founded  in  error, 
and  it  has  led  to  serious  mistakes  in  construction.  Its 
absurdity  must  be  seen  by  reversing  the  conditions  and 
considering  the  prospects  of  successfully  conveying 
water  from  a  spring,  for  any  distance,  in  pipes  that  have 
open  joints  every  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  in  their 
course.  It  would  at  once  be  said  that  failure  would 
surely  follow,  as  the  water  would  leak  out  at  the  joints. 
That  water  must  leak  in  through  similar  joints  in  a  tile 
drain,  should  likewise  be  obvious,  and  serve  as  a  ready 
explanation  of  the  manner  in  which  water  finds  its  way 
into  drains.  A  simple  experiment,  which  I  have  made 
before  my  classes  for  several  years,  should  be  tried  by 
those  who  have  any  doubts  in  regard  to  the  leakage  of 
the  joints  of  tile  drains.  Put  a  plug  of  soft  wood,  or 
cork,  in  one  end  of  an  ordinary  unglazed  tile,  and  then 
fill  it  with  water.  If  the  tile  is  then  allowed  to  stand 
for  an  hour,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  surface  of  the  water 
is  lowered  but  little  by  the  amount  absorbed  by  the  walls 
of  the  tile,  and  that  this  would  be  insignificant  in  its 
effects  in  draining  land.  Then  place  another  tile  on  top 
of  the  one  containing  water,  and  turn  it  around,  to  make 
as  tight  a  joint  as  possible  at  their  junction,  and  again 
pour  in  water  to  fill  the  second  tile.  It  will  then  be 
found  that  the  water  escapes  from  the  joint  between  the 
two  tiles  quite  rapidly,  and  that  a  continuous  stream  of 
water  is  required  to  keep  the  second  tile  full,  and  that 
when  the  supply  is  cut  off  the  leakage  empties  it  in  a 
few  seconds.  If  the  attempt  is  made  to  keep  water  out 
of  a  tile  drain  as  laid  in  the  soil,  great  care  must  be  exer- 
cised in  cementing  the  joints  to  make  them  water  tight. 
Gisborne,*  on  the  authority  of  Parkes,  makes  the 
following  statement :  "If  an  acre  of  land  be  intersected 
with  parallel  drains  twelve  yards  apart,  and  if  on  that 
acre  should  fall  the  very  unusual  quantity  of  one  inch 

*  Essays  on  Agriculture,  p.  108. 


142  LAND    DRAINING. 

of  rain  in  twelve  hours,  in  order  that  every  drop  of  this 
rain  may  be  discharged  by  the  drains  in  forty-eight 
hours  from  the  commencement  of  the  rain  (and  in  a  less 
period  that  quantity  neither  will,  nor  is  it  desirable  that 
it  should,  filter  through  agricultural  soil),  the  interval 
between  two  pipes  will  be  called  upon  to  pass  two-thirds 
of  a  tablespoonful  of  water  per  minute,  and  no  more. 
Inch  pipes,  lying  at  a  small  inclination,  and  running 
only  half-full,  will  discharge  more  than  double  this 
quantity  of  water  in  forty-eight  hours.  The  mains,  or 
receiving  drains,  are,  of  course,  laid  with  larger  pipes." 
Having  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  water  enters 
drains  at  the  joints  between  the  tiles,  and  that  what 
soaks  through  the  walls  of  the  most  porous  tiles  is  not 
worth  considering,  we  may  turn  our  attention  to  other 
points  of  practical  interest  relating  to  the  behavior  of 
drainage  water  in  the  soil. 

How  Does  the  Rainfall  Reach  the  Tiles  ? — Let 
us  trace  the  course  of  the  rain  falling  on  the  soil  until 
it  reaches  the  tiles,  in  a  field  that  has  drains  four  feet 
deep,  at  regular  intervals  of  forty  feet.  The  water 
would  at  once  be  absorbed  by  the  soil  of  a  well  drained 
field,  and  percolate  directly  downward  by  gravitation  to 
the  water  table,  which  we  will  suppose,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  shower,  is  just  below  the  bottom  of  the  drains. 
Over  the  entire  field  the  water  must  then  filter  through 
more  than  four  feet  of  soil  before  it  reaches  the  water 
table,  which  will  then  gradually  rise  until  it  is  above  the 
bottom  of  the  drain.  The  water  will  leak  into  the  drain 
at  the  lower  part  of  the  joints  between  the  tiles,  and  be 
/  discharged  towards  the  outlet.  In  the  case  of  moderate 
rains,  that  reach  the  water  table,  it  must  be  evident  that 
but  a  slight  rise  of  the  water  table  will  take  place  when 
the  drains  begin  to  run,  as  the  discharge  and  the  supply 
will  soon  be  equal,  and  it  must  likewise  be  seen  tlnit 
the  water  enters  the  drain  from  below,  and  it  is  only 


QUALITY   AKD   SIZE   OF  TILES.  143 

when  the  rain  is  sufficient  to  raise  the  water  table  to  the 
top  of  the  tiles  that  water  can  leak  in  on  all  sides  of  the 
joints  of  the  tiles. 

From  the  failure  to  recognize  these  facts  the  mis- 
take has  often  been  made  of  filling  the  ditch  immedi- 
ately above  the  tiles  with  permeable  materials,  as  small 
stones,  or  gravel,  to  facilitate  the  percolation  of  water  to 
the  top  of  the  drain,  as  shown  in  figs,  4,  12,  14  and  15. 
This  does  more  harm  than  good,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
unnecessary  expense,  as  silt  is  liable  to  be  washed  into 
the  drain  at  any  defective  joint,  by  water  entering  freely 
at  the  top  of  the  tiles,  and  care  should  be  taken  to  pack 
the  earth  firmly  above  the  tiles,  so  that  water  may  be 
forced  to  continue  its  downward  course  through  the  soil 
to  the  water  table,  before  entering  the  drain. 

When  the  discharge  from  the  drains  equals  the  sup- 
ply of  water  from  above,  the  water  table  does  not  rise 
any  higher,  and  this  marks  the  maximum  flow  of  water 
through  the  drains ;  and  when  the  rain  ceases  the  water 
table  soon  begins  to  fall,  and  the  flow  from  the  drains 
diminishes.  Moreover,  as  soon  as  the  drains  begin  to 
run  there  must  be  a  movement  of  the  drainage  water  in 
the  soil  towards  the  drain,  to  replace  that  discharged 
through  the  tiles,  and  this  lateral  movement  gradually 
extends  to  the  distance  of  twenty  feet  on  each  side  of 
the  drain,  in  the  case  supposed  above,  or  one-half  the 
distance  to  the  adjoining  drains.  The  rain,  falling 
directly  over  the  drain,  reaches  the  water  table  and  leaks 
into  the  tiles,  with  but  slight  lateral  percolation  through 
the  soil ;  while  that  falling  half  way  between  the  drains 
makes  a  vertical  descent  of  four  feet  to  the  water  table, 
and  is  then  carried,  by  the  lateral  movement  of  the 
drainage  water,  to  the  drain,  having  percolated  through 
the  soil  a  total  distance  of  twenty-four  feet.  From  the 
extent  of  this  filtration  of  the  rain  through  the  soil, 
some  time  must  elapse  before  the  water,  falling  on  the 


144  LAND   DEAINING. 

surface  of  the  soil,  can  begin  to  escape  by  the  drain,  and, 
after  the  rain  has  ceased,  the  drains  must  continue  to 
run  until  the  water  table  subsides  to  the  level  of  the 
bottom  of  the  bore  of  the  tiles,  which  must  take  place 
gradually,  from  the  lateral  distance  a  large  proportion 
of  the  water  must  percolate  through  the  porous  soil 
before  reaching  the  drain. 

There  is  another  factor  that  has  an  influence  on  the 
time  required  by  the  rain-water  to  reach  the  drain,  that 
must  not  be  overlooked.  The  capillary  capacity  of  the 
soil  must  be  satisfied  before  any  of  the  rainfall  assumes 
the  form  of  drainage  water.  Soils  have,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  a  certain  capacity  for  retaining  or 
holding  capillary  water,  and,  in  the  intervals  between 
rains,  in  the  growing  season,  this  store  of  water  is  drawn 
upon  by  exhalation  from  plants,  and  surface  evaporation 
from  the  soil.  When  rain  falls  it  is,  in  the  first  place, 
appropriated  by  the  soil  to  replenish  its  stock,  or  normal 
reserve,  of  capillary  water,  and  it  is  only  the  rain  in 
excess  of  this  demand  that  appears  as  drainage  water. 
In  the  wheat  experiments  at  Eothamsted,  it  was  stated 
that  the  drains  of  the  barnyard  manure  plot,  on  the  aver- 
age, run  but  once  in  the  year,  and  quite  heavy  rains  in 
the  growing  season,  under  ordinary  conditions,  fre- 
quently fail  to  bring  about  a  discharge  from  the  drains. 

Direct  observations  have  repeatedly  shown  that  the 
mass  of  drained  soil  above  the  tiles  has  a  marked  influ- 
ence, in  retarding  the  flow  of  drainage  water  and  in 
diminishing  its  volume.  After  a  rainfall  of  nearly  half 
an  inch  in  twelve  hours,  Mr.  Parkes  found  that  the  dis- 
charge of  drainage  water,  by  Mr.  Dickinson's  Dalton 
gauge,  and  by  Mr.  Hammond's  inch  pipes,  laid  three 
and  four  feet  deep  in  a  field,  continued  forty-eight  hours 
after  the  commencement  of  the  rain. 

With  heavy  rainfalls  on  retentive  soils,  a  consider- 
ably longer  time  is  required  for  the  discharge  of  the 


QUALITY   AND   SIZE   OF   TILES.  145 

drainage  water.  In  Central  Park,  New  York,  soon  after 
the  drainage  of  "the  Green"  was  completed,  comprising 
an  area  of  about  ten  acres  of  wet  land,  Col.  George  E. 
Waring,  the  engineer  in  charge,  made  frequent  estimates 
of  the  volume  of  water  discharged  by  the  main  drain, 
from  July  13th  to  Dec.  30th,  to  ascertain  the  relations 
of  drainage  to  rainfall.  The  results  of  these  observations 
for  the  first  month  (July  13th  to  Aug.  14th),  given  in 
the  following  table,  will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  grad- 
ual discharge  of  the  drainage  water,  without  copying 
the  record  in  full.* 

It  will  be  seen  that  three  remarkable  rains  occurred 
in  the  course  of  the  month  recorded  in  the  table,  viz.  : 
July  12th  and  16th,  and  Aug.  5th,  and  that  the  total  fall 
of  rain  for  the  entire  period  was  171,052  gallons  per 
acre  (7.57  inches),  of  which  but  45,252  gallons  per  acre 
(2.00  inches),  or  26.46  per  cent,  was  discharged  by  the 
drains.  A  large  proportion  of  the  first  rainfall  of  2.20 
inches  (July  12th)  must  have  been  retained  by  the  soil, 
as  the  maximum  recorded  discharge  from  the  drain 
(July  14th)  was  at  the  rate  of  only  9.95  per  cent,  of  the 
rainfall  in  twenty-four  hours,  or  about  one-fifth  of  an 
inch,  and  the  discharge  the  next  two  days  was  at  the 
rate  of  less  than  three  per  cent,  of  the  rainfall  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  The  total  discharge  from  the  drains  in 
three  days  was  less  than  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  rainfall, 
and  the  soil  at  the  depth  of  two  feet  was  still  saturated 
with  (capillary)  water.  The  second  heavy  fall  of  rain 
occurred  July  16th,  followed  by  a  decided  increase  in 
drainage,  but  even  then  the  rate  of  maximum  discharge 
was  only  at  the  rate  of  23.25  per  cent,  of  the  rainfall,  or 
a  little  over  one- third  of  an  inch  in  twenty-four  hours. 
The  drainage  then  rapidly  diminished,  but  the  effects  of 
these  two  rains  of  over  three  and  one-half  inches  was  evi- 
dent until  the  3d  of  August,  or  more  than  two  weeks. 

*  Draining  for  Profit  and  Health,  p.  87. 

10 


146 


LAND   DRAINING. 


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QUALITY   AND   SIZE   OF  TILES. 


147 


The  slight  rains  of  July  23d  and  Aug.  3d  had 
little,  if  any,  influence  on  the  drainage,  and  there  was 
but  a  slight  increase  from  the  rain  of  over  half  an  inch 
on  the  4th  of  August.  We  find,  likewise,  that  the 
greatest  discharge  from  the  drains  did  not  follow  the 
heaviest  rainfall,  and  that  the  smallest  of  the  three 
heavy  rains  gave  the  largest  percentage  of  drainage. 
This  is  best  shown  in  the  tabular  form  as  follows : 


TABLE  23. 


Date. 

Rainfall  in  inches. 

Maximum  dis- 
charge by  drains  in 
24  hours  in  gallons 
per  acre. 

Per  cent,  of  rainfall 
in  maximum  drain- 
age in  24  hours. 

July  13th 
Aug.  5th 
July  16th 

2.20 
2.00 
1.48 

4,968 
8,280 
7,764 

9.95 
18.28 
23.25 

The  maximum  rate  of  discharge  of  water  by  the 
drains,  after  a  rainfall  of  2.20  inches,  is  but  sixty  per 
cent,  of  the  discharge  after  a  rainfall  of  two  inches,  and 
less  than  sixty-four  per  cent,  of  that  following  a  rainfall 
of  but  1.48  inches,  and  the  drainage  is  not,  therefore, 
determined  solely  by  the  amount  of  rainfall. 

The  tables  of  drainage  and  evaporation,  in  chapter 
three,  may  be  profitably  consulted  in  this  connection. 
The  relations  of  drainage  and  evaporation  to  rainfall 
show  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  provide  drains  to  carry 
off  all  of  the  heaviest  rainfalls.  The  stores  of  capillary 
water  in  the  soil  are  materially  diminished  by  evapora- 
tion from  the  surface  soil,  and  exhalation  by  plants,  in 
the  growing  season,  and  quite  copious  rains  may  be 
required  to  replace  what  has  thus  been  disposed  of. 

It  is,  however,  evident  that  the  influence  of  soils  in 
retarding  the  discharge  of  drainage  water,  must  vary 
with  their  capacity  to  absorb  and  retain  water,  in  con- 
nection with  their  previous  condition  of  dryness,  and 
the  observations  made  at  Central  Park,  and  in  other 
drainage  experiments,  must  be  interpreted  as  represent- 
ing a  conformity  to  the  general  law  that  determines  the 


148  LAND   DRAINING. 

percolation  of  water  through  soils,  under  the  special 
conditions  presented  in  each  case.  The  known  facts  in 
regard  to  the  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  aver- 
age rainfall  that  is  discharged  as  drainage  water  from 
well  drained  retentive  soils,  on  which  a  crop  is  growing, 
and  the  time  required  for  it  to  reach  the  drains,  must 
then  be  recognized,  as  important  factors  for  considera- 
tion, in  deciding  upon  the  capacity  of  drains  that  are 
needed  to  secure  thorough  drainage. 

Size  of  Tiles. — As  the  prices  of  tiles  increase  rap- 
idly with  their  size,  and  their  cost  forms  an  important 
cash  item  in  the  expense  of  draining,  it  will  be  desirable 
to  use  the  smallest  sizes  that  will  serve  the  purpose  of 
promptly  discharging  the  drainage  water  that  may  reach 
them  after  heavy  rains,  under  ordinary  conditions. 

The  tables,  in  works  on  draining,  giving  the  capac- 
ity of  pipes  at  different  inclinations,  for  discharging 
water,  are  of  no  practical  value  as  aids  in  determining 
the  size  of  tiles  required  to  carry  off  the  surplus  water  of 
a  given  rainfall,  as  they  do  not  take  into  account  the 
different  ways  soil  water  is  disposed  of,  or  the  many  con- 
ditions that  prevent  its  rapid  percolation  through  a 
drained  soil  on  its  course  to  the  drains.  The  principles 
of  hydraulics  are  applied  in  estimating  the  required 
capacity  of  sewers  for  removing  a  given  amount  of  water, 
which  they  receive  directly  through  the  open  mouths  of 
their  branches,  but  they  do  not  have  the  same  signifi- 
cance in  land  drainage,  from  the  indefinite  and  con- 
stantly varying  factors  intervening  between  the  fall  of 
rain  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  the  access  of  drain- 
age water  to  the  tiles  ;  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  formu- 
late the  direct  relations  of  drainage  to  any  given  rainfall. 

Most  of  the  empirical  rules  that  have  been  given 
for  estimating  the  required  capacity  of  tiles  for  draining 
a  given  area,  will  lead  to  the  selection  of  sizes  consider- 
ably larger  than  are  actually  needed,  and  thus  unneces- 


QUALITY    AND    SIZE    OF   TILES.  149 

sarily  increase  the  expense.  For  example,  Gisborne* 
lays  down  the  rule  "that  a  three-inch  pipe  will  discharge 
the  water  of  nine  acres,  four  of  sixteen,  and  so  on ;  the 
quantity  of  acres  being  equal  to  the  product  of  the  diam- 
eter of  the  pipe  in  inches  multiplied  into  itself."  War- 
ing makes  the  following  estimate,  which  is,  undoubtedly, 
a  safe  one,  under  average  conditions.  "In  view  of  all 
the  information  that  can  be  gathered  on  the  subject,  the 
following  directions  are  given  as  perfectly  reliable  for 
drains  four  feet,  or  more,  in  depth,  laid  on  a  well  regu- 
lated fall  of  even  three  inches  in  a  hundred  feet  : 

For      2  acres  1£  inch  pipes. 

For      8  acres  2J  inch  pipes. 

For    20  acres  3^  inch  pipes. 

For    40  acres  two  3J  inch  pipes. 

For    50  acres  6  inch  pipes. 

For  100  acres  8  inch  pipes. 

"It  is  not  pretended  that  these  drains  will  immedi- 
ately remove  all  the  water  of  the  heaviest  storms,  but 
they  will  always  remove  it  fast  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes,  and,  if  the  pipes  are  securely  laid,  the  drains 
will  only  be  benefited  by  the  occasional  cleaning  they 
will  receive  when  running  'more  than  full/"f 

The  size  of  the  main  should  be  determined  with 
reference  to  the  area  to  be  drained,  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  combined  capacity  of  the  laterals  con- 
nected with  it.  In  a  well-planned  system  of  drainage 
the  combined  capacity  of  the  laterals  will  almost  always 
considerably  exceed  the  capacity  of  the  main  required 
for  a  given  area.  So  far  as  their  capacity  to  discharge 
water  is  concerned,  one-inch  pipes  are  sufficient  for  lat- 
erals under  average  conditions,  and  they  have  been  exten- 
sively used  in  Great  Britain,  where  they  seldom  run 
more  than  half  full  after  heavy  rains.  From  their  small 

*  Essays  on  Agriculture,  p.  109. 

t Draining  for  Prortt  and  Health,  p.  88. 


150  LAND   DRAINING. 

section,  however,  they  are  liable  to  displacement,  and 
any  slight  irregularities  in  the  fall  on  which  they  are 
laid  will  check  the  flow  of  water  through  them  and 
interfere  with  their  efficiency,  and  for  this  reason  later- 
als of  one  and  one-half  to  two  inches  are,  on  the  whole, 
to  be  preferred.  In  many  localities  two-inch  tiles  are 
uniformly  used  for  laterals,  as  they  are  the  smallest  size 
made  in  the  vicinity.  When  the  fall  is  over  six  inches  in 
one  hundred  feet,  with  a  uniformly  hard  bottom,  a  slight 
saving  might  be  made  by  using  one  and  one-half  inch 
laterals,  but  with  a  less  fall,  or  when  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch  is  not  firm,  two-inch  laterals  have  advantages, 
which,  in  my  opinion,  more  than  compensate  for  the 
difference  in  cost.  In  peaty  soils,  that  are  liable  to  set- 
tle, more  or  less,  and  thus  interfere  with  the  alignment 
of  the  tiles,  three-inch  laterals  may  be  used  with  econ- 
omy, but,  on  upland  soils,  where  the  tiles,  when  properly 
laid,  are  not  likely  to  be  displaced,  they  have  no  advan- 
tages over  two-inch  laterals  under  any  conditions,  or 
even  over  one  and  one-half  inch  tiles  that  have  a  fall 
exceeding  five  or  six  inches  in  one  hundred  feet. 

An  illustration  of  the  capacity  and  efficiency  of 
drains  in  actual  practice  may  be  of  interest  in  this  con- 
nection. Mr.  A.  F.  Wood,  of  Mason,  Michigan,  has 
tile  drains  of  four,  five  and  six  inches  in  diameter  on  his 
farm,  which,  in  an  experience  of  several  years,  have 
proved  satisfactory  as  mains  for  the  drainage  of  larger 
areas  than  the  same  sizes  have  been  credited  with  in  the 
above  estimates.  The  first  six-inch  main  was  laid  to 
take  the  place  of  a  large  open  ditch  that  had  failed  as  an 
outlet  for  the  drainage  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  acres.  At  the  upper  end  of  this  main  a  well,  or  silt 
basin,  was  made,  opening  above  the  surface,  so  that  the 
working  of  the  drains  could  be  readily  observed.  Sub- 
mains  of  three,  four  and  five  inches  in  diameter  were 
laid  in  different  directions  from  this  well,  and  their 


QUALITY   AtfD   SIZE   OF   TILES.  151 

combined  capacity,  therefore,  considerably  exceeded  that 
of  the  six-inch  main,  the  ratio  being  about  fifty  to 
thirty-six. 

The  five-inch  sub-main,  sixty  rods  long,  has  branches 
of  three  and  four  inch  tiles,  connecting  with  about  two 
miles  of  two-inch  laterals,  draining  fifty  acres.  The 
four-inch  sub-main  receives  the  drainage  from  about 
twenty  acres,  on  which  there  is  more  than  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  of  two-inch  laterals.  On  the  whole,  the  six- 
inch  main  receives  the  drainage  from  more  than  three 
miles  in  length  of  lateral  drains.  Another  six-inch 
main,  seventy  rods  long,  receives  the  discharge  from 
forty  rods  of  five-inch,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  rods 
of  four-inch  branches,  with  two-inch  laterals  to  make  up 
an  aggregate  of  five  miles  of  drains  on  an  area  of  seventy- 
five  acres.  The  fall  of  the  several  drains  is  approxi- 
mately as  follows  :  Th«  first  six-inch  main  seven  inches 
in  one  hundred  feet ;  the  five-inch  sub-main  six  inches 
in  one  hundred  feet,  and  its  laterals  an  average  of  two 
inches  in  one  hundred  feet;  the  second  six-inch  main 
four  inches,  and  its  laterals  from  one  to  one  and  one-half 
inches  in  one  hundred  feet.  From  observations  at  the 
well  at  the  upper  end  of  the  first  six-inch  main,  it 
appears  that  it  runs  full  after  heavy  rains  in  wet  seasons, 
or  taken  all  together  for  three  or  four  days  in  the  course 
of  the  year,  but  it  has  never  failed  to  remove  the  drain- 
age water,  so  that  the  land  could  be  worked  within  a 
few  hours  after  the  heaviest  rains.  In  some  years  it  has 
not  been  known  to  run  full,  although  closely  watched. 
On  the  whole,  Mr.  Wood  informs  me  that  the  drainage 
of  his  farm  has  proved  satisfactory  in  every  respect,  and 
he  has  do  doubt  as  to  the  sufficient  capacity  of  the 
main  drains. 

The  nearest  point  at  which  a  record  of  the  rainfall 
has  been  kept  since  the  drains  were  laid,  is  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  college,  ten  miles  north  in  a  direct  line. 


152  LAND   DRAINING. 

At  that  place  the  animal  rainfall  has  varied  from  23.78 
to  48.36  inches,  with  an  average  of  34.15  inches  for  the 
ten  years  preceding  1890.  From  four  to  fifteen  rains  of 
one  inch,  or  over,  in  twenty-four  hours,  have  occurred 
in  a  year,  or  an  annual  average  of  nine  for  the  entire 
period.  Of  these  heavy  rainfalls,  in  the  course  of  ten 
years,  there  were  thirty-five  of  one  and  one-half  inches, 
or  over;  thirteen  of  two  inches,  or  over ;  five  of  two  and 
one-half  inches,  or  over ;  one  of  three  inches,  and  one  of 
three  and  one-half  inches. 

Collars. — We  have  already  expressed  the  opinion 
that  collars  for  tiles  are  not  necessary,  but  it  may  be 
well  to  examine  in  detail  the  claims  that  have  been  made 
for  their  use.  They  have  been  recommended  for  the 
smaller  sizes  of  tiles  to  prevent  any  danger  of  displace- 
ment, and  it  has  even  been  claimed  that  small  round 
tiles  should  not  be  laid  without  them.  An  extended 
experience  has,  however,  proved  to  my  satisfaction  that 
collars  should  never  be  used,  as,  from  their  first  cost 
(about  two-thirds  as  much  as  tiles),  and  the  additional 
labor  required  in  laying  tiles  with  them,  the  expense  of 
draining  is  materially  increased,  without  any  compensat- 
ing advantages.  The  theoretical  advantages  of  collars 
must  be  limited  to  holding  the  end  of  the  tiles,  to  pre- 
vent displacement  in  the  process  of  laying,  in  order  to 
secure  uniformity  and  continuity  in  the  bore  of  the 
drain,  but,  t->  secure  this  desirable  accuracy  in  alignment, 
the  collars  must  fit  the  tiles  closely,  as  they  seldom  do ; 
and  it  must  be  seen  that  when  the  tiles  are  once  covered 
and  bedded  in  the  earth,  there  is  no  further  danger  of 
displacement.  In  the  finished  drain  collars  can  serve 
no  useful  purpose,  as  the  assumption  that  they  add  to 
the  security  of  the  joints  and  prevent  the  entrance  of 
silt  may,  with  good  reason,  be  questioned.  Practically, 
the  collars  simply  serve  to  conceal  the  defects  arising 
from  careless  methods  of  construction,  and  with  suitable 


QUALITY   AKD   SIZE   OF   TILES.  153 

tools,  in  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  workman,  a  better 
drain  can  be  made  without  them. 

Of  the  many  objections  which  might  be  urged 
against  the  use  of  collars,  we  will  only  notice  the  most 
obvious.  In  burning  tiles  and  collars,  the  heat  to  which 
they  are  subjected  is  not  the  same,  at  different  times,  or 
even  in  different  parts  of  the  kiln,  and  there  is,  conse- 
quently, marked  differences  in  shrinkage,  so  that  uni- 
formity in  size  cannot  be  obtained.  ^From  this  fact  it  is 
difficult  to  select  collars  to  fit  the  tiles  as  they  are  laid, 
which  seriously  retards  the  progress  of  the  work.  In 
the  next  place,  there  is  no  certainty  that  close  joints 
between  the  ends  of  the  tiles  are  made,  as  they  are  con- 
cealed by  the  collars,  and  when  an  open  joint  is  made 
under  a  loose-fitting  collar,  silt  readily  finds  its  way  into 
the  drain,  and  may  cause  an  obstruction. 

Sometimes  the  tiles  are  laid  without  touching  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch,  their  ends  being,  supported  by  the 
collars,  and,  whon  the  drain  is  finished,  there  is  a  space 
under  the  tiles  to  be  filled  by  the  subsequent  washing  in 
of  the  earth.  In  such  cases  the  tiles  are  liable  to  be 
broken  by  the  pressure  of  the  soil  above  them,  or  by 
carelessness  in  packing  the  earth  with  which  they  are 
covered.  If,  to  avoid  accidents  of  this  kind,  an  excava- 
tion is  made  to  receive  the  collar,  and  allow  the  tiles  to 
rest  on  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  the  expense  of  laying 
the  tiles  is  considerably  increased.  Moreover,  inch,  or 
inch  and  one  quarter  tiles,  with  collars,  will  cost  more 
than  inch  and  one-half,  or  two-inch  tiles  without  collars, 
so  that,  on  the  whole,  the  smallest  sizes,  with  collars, 
cannot  be  recommended  on  the  score  of  economy. 

Summary. — The  leading  facts  which  have  a  bear-     V' 
ing  upon  the  question  of  the  size  of  tiles  required  for 
thorough  draining  may  be  briefly  stated,  as  follows  :     In 
the  first  place,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  flow  of 
water  in  tile  drains  depends  upon  the  level  of  the  water 


154  LAND   DRAINING. 

table,  and  that  water  enters  drains  at  the  joints  of  the 
tiles.  In  the  growing  season  the  exhalation  of  water  by 
plants,  and  evaporation  from  the  surface  soil,  are  carried 
on  at  the  expense  of  the  capillary  water  of  the  soil,  with 
the  result  that  in  dry  seasons  the  water  table  is,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  below  the  level  of  the  drains. 

The  rain  falling  upon  the  surface  of  the  soil,  after 
an  interval  of  drouth,  is,  in  the  first  place,  disposed  of 
as  capillary  water,  to  supply  the  existing  deficiency  in 
the  soil,  and,  in  the  next  place,  that  which  is  not  needed 
for  that  purpose  percolates  down  to  the  water  table, 
which  gradually  rises  until  it  reaches  the  drains,  and  a 
flow  of  drainage  water  through  the  tiles  then  follows. 
A  lateral  movement  of  the  standing  water  in  the  soil, 
between  the  drains,  now  sets  in  to  supply  the  loss  by 
drainage  through  the  tiles. 

In  effect,  then,  the  drained  soil  not  only  serves  as  a 
storage  reservoir  for  the  rainfall,  but  it  retards  its 
descent  to  the  drains,  so  that  the  maximum  discharge 
from  the  tiles  takes  place  some  time  after  the  rain  has 
fallen,  and  it  soon  diminishes  to  a  moderate  flow,  that 
continues  several  days.  The  amount  of  water  Foils  may 
absorb  is  very  much  in  excess  of  any  probable  rainfall. 
The  water  held  by  the  drained  wheat  soil,  in  January 
more  than  in  July  (table  16,  p.  84),  would  represent 
seven  or  eight  inches  of  rainfall ;  and  the  difference  in 
the  water  contained  in  the  fallow  and  barley  land  (table 
18,  p.  87),  was  equivalent  to  from  seven  to  nine  inches 
of  rainfall.  It  was  shown,  in  other  experiments,  that 
but  a  small  proportion  of  the  rainfall,  in  the  summer 
months,  was  disposed  of  as  drainage  water,  even  in  wet 
seasons ;  and  that  in  the  winter  half  of  the  year  the 
drainage  from  a  bare  soil  was,  in  no  case,  equal  to  the 
rainfall,  and  from  a  soil  on  which  crops  were  growing  it 
was  very  much  less.  The  significance  of  these  facts  will 
best  be  seen  by  bringing  together  some  of  the  results 
obtained  in  the  preceding  tables. 


UNIVERSITY   1 


QUALITY   AND   SIZE 


155 


Of  the  extraordinary  summer  rainfall,  of  25.75 
inches,  at  Kothamsted,  less  than  one-half  appeared  as 
drainage,  while  in  all  of  the  other  observations  the  sum- 
mer drainage  was  not  only  very  small,  but  it  was  less 
from  a  soil  where  grass  was  growing  than  from  a  bare 
soil.  The  winter  drainage  varied  from  less  than  one- 

TABLE  24. 
RELATIONS  OF  DRAINAGE  TO  RAINFALL. 


Drain  Gauges. 

Summer  \  year 
April-Sept. 

Winter  £  year. 
Oct.-March. 

Total  for  the  year. 

Rainfall 
inches. 

Drain'ge 
inches. 

Rainfall 
inches. 

Drain'ge 
inches. 

Rainfall 
inches. 

Drain'ge 
inches. 

Mr.Dickins'ns 
Av.  8  yrs,  sod, 
Wettest  sea- 
son, sod, 

12.88 
17.41 

0.90 
2.60 

13.74 

13.87 

10.39 
12.31 

26.61 
31.28 

11.29 
14.19" 

Mr.   Greaves', 
Av.  14  yrs,  sod, 

12.14 

0.73 

13.58 

6.85 

25.72 

7.58 

Rothamsted, 
A  v.  18  yrs  bare 
soil, 
Wettest  sum'r 

15.21 

25.75 

4.04 
12.27 

15.24 
16.96 

10.35 
13.59 

30.45 
42.72 

14.39 
25.86 

Geneva,  N.  Y. 
Av.  5  yrs,  sod, 
Wettest    sum- 
mer, sod, 
Wettest  sum'r 
bare  soil, 

15.85 
18.55 
18.55 

1.17 
3.84 
4.71 

7.87 
9.32 
9.32 

2.29 
3.72 
5.16 

23.72 
27.87 
27.87 

3.46 
7.56 
9.87 

half  to  rather  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  rainfall, 
with  the  single  exception  observed  by  Mr.  Dickinson,  in 
which  the  heavy  summer  rainfall  of  the  wettest  season 
increased  the  winter,  as  well  as  the  summer,  drainage. 

It  was  only  claimed  for  the  Central  Park  observa- 
tions, that  they  approximately  represented  the  relations 
of  drainage  to  rainfall,  but  they  are  consistent  with  the 
more  accurate  records  obtained  with  drain-gauges,  and 
they  may,  therefore,  be  accepted  as  representing  a  con- 
formity to  the  general  law.  During  the  summer  in 
which  the  drainage  was  observed,  once  or  twice  a  day 
after  every  rain,  the  maximum  discharge  of  water  from 
the  drains  followed  a  rainfall  of  less  than  one-third  of 
an  inch,  and  it  was  at  the  rate  of  0.44  of  an  inch  of  rain- 
fall in  twenty-four  hours,  at  9  A.  M.,  August  25th;  at 


156  LAND   DRAINING. 

7  P.  M.  it  had  fallen  to  0.39  of  an  inch  ;  at  6.30  A.  M., 
Aug.  26th,  it  was  only  0.18  of  an  inch;  and  at  6  p.  M. 
it  was  but  0.10  of  an  inch.  The  average  of  six  observa- 
tions of  the  drainage,  in  the  three  days  following  the 
maximum  discharge,  was  at  the  rate  of  only  one-fifth  of 
an  inch  of  rainfall  in  twenty-four  hours,  but  this  was 
only  eleven  days  after  the  close  of  the  month  recorded 
above,  in  which  nearly  twice  the  average  amount  had 
fallen,  including  three  rains  of  from  1.48  to  2.20  inches. 
The  drainage,  in  this  case,  must  have  been  influenced 
by  the  heavy  rains  of  the  preceding  month.  Rainfalls 
of  two  and  one-half  inches,  or  over,  must  be  looked 
upon  as  extraordinary,  and  they  so  rarely  occur  in  the 
Northern  United  States,  that  they  need  not  be  consid- 
ered in  estimating  the  required  capacity  of  drains  to 
secure  thorough  drainage.  From  the  increased  cost  of 
tiles,  and  the  labor  required  in  laying  them,  it  will  not 
pay  to  provide  for  the  discharge  in  a  few  hours  of  the 
surplus  drainage  of  extraordinary  rains  that  seldom  occur. 
They  are  best  provided  for  by  deep  draining,  to  increase 
the  storage  capacity  of  the  soil,  and  prevent  a  rapid 
transfer  of  water  from  the  surface  to  the  drainr,  by  the 
larger  mass  of  soil  through  which  it  must  percolate,  and 
if  the  tiles  are  well  laid,  with  close-fitting  joints,  on  a 
uniform  grade,  the  drains  will  not  be  injured  by  running 
full  for  several  days  under  the  increased  pressure  to 
which  they  are  subjected. 

On.  the  other  hand,  from  the  evidence  already  pre- 
sented, in  regard  to  the  behavior  of  soil  water,  the  indi- 
cations are  that  the  surplus  water  of  extraordinary  rains 
cannot  be  disposed  of  in  a  few  hours,  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  its  discharge  by  large  drains, 
as  time  must  be  allowed  for  its  percolation  downwards 
to  the  water  table,  and  for  its  more  or  less  extended  lat- 
eral movement  through  the  soil  between  the  drains, 
before  it  can  escape  through  the  tiles. 


CHAPTER    IX. 
How  TO  MAKE  TILE  DRAINS. 

To  make  an  efficient  and  permanent  drain,  round 
tiles  must  be  laid  with  close-fitting  joints,  on  a  uniform 
slope,  without  any  vertical  undulations  to  obstruct  or 
check  the  flow  of  water  through  them,  and,  what  is 
quite  as  important,  they  must  be  covered  with  earth, 
and  the  ditch  filled,  without  displacing  the  tiles  or 
interfering  with  their  alignment.  Every  detail  of  the 
work  should  be  carried  out  with  unwavering  attention 
to  these  fundamental  requirements,  which  should  be 
secured  with  the  strictest  economy  in  the  expenditure  of 
labor.  In  order  to  accomplish  the  desired  end  the  work 
must  be  carried  on  in  accordance  with  a  definite,  well- 
matured  plan,  and  the  implements  best  adapted  to  the 
purpose  must  be  provided,  before  any  tiles  are  laid. 

Skilled  labor,  or,  at  least,  skillful  and  intelligent 
supervision,  is  required,  to  make  a  tile  drain  that  will 
prove  satisfactory  in  every  way,  and  keep  its  cost  within 
reasonable  limits.  It  has  been  estimated,  by  those  who 
have  given  the  subject  attention,  that  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  the  tile  drains  which  have  been  made,  have 
failed,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  to  give  satisfactory 
results  from  errors  in  construction.  To  one  who  is 
familiar  with  the  ordinary  methods  of  draining,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  partial,  or  total,  failures  in  tile  drain- 
ing are  so  numerous,  as  the  work  is  frequently  under- 
taken by  those  who  have  no  definite  knowledge  of  cor- 
rect principles ;  and  preconceived  notions,  or  fallacious 
reasoning  upon  the  facts  presented,  have  often  led  to 

157 


158  LAND    DBAIiUNG. 

easily  avoidable  faults  in  construction,  and  consequent 
disappointment  in  the  results.  Many  of  the  mistakes 
made  in  draining  may,  however,  be  attributed  to  a  reli- 
ance on  authorities  that  are  hastily  consulted,  as  the 
errors  of  the  early  writers  have,  in  too  many  instances, 
been  copied,  and  even  found  their  way  into  standard 
works  on  draining,  without  due  consideration  of  their 
real  import  and  impracticability. 

After  an  extended  and  unsatisfactory  experience  in 
attempting  to  follow  the  directions  for  laying  tiles  found 
in  books  on  draining,  I  was  compelled  to  abandon  them, 
and  devise  new  methods  to  simplify  the  work  of  con- 
struction and  secure  a  reasonable  degree  of  accuracy  in 
the  finished  drain.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  found  nec- 
essary, and  it  proved  to  be  a  fortunate  innovation  on 
accepted  methods,  to  begin  laying  tiles  at  the  outlet  and 
work  towards  the  upper  end  of  the  drains,  instead  of 
keeping  long  lines  of  ditch  open,  and  trying  to  overcome 
the  almost  insuperable  difficulties  involved  in  following 
the  directions  uniformly  given  by  writers  on  draining. 
With  this  change  of  base,  many  of  the  most  serious 
obstacles  which  had  before  been  encountered,  entirely 
disappeared.  In  the  next  place,  it  was  evident  that  the 
old  methods  of  determining,  or  fixing,  the  grade  of  the 
drain,  by  means  of  "boning  rods,"  "  A  levels,"  and  sim- 
ilar devices,  were  not  only  inconvenient,  but  fallacious 
and  unreliable,  under  average  conditions,  and  attention 
was  directed  to  an  improvement  of  the  methods  for 
establishing  the  grade  of  the  bed  for  the  tiles. 

Grade  Fixed  by  a  Line. — Judge  French*  had 
recommended  a  line,  as  "the  most  accurate  and  satis- 
factory method  of  bringing  drains  to  a  regular  grade," 
but  his  method  of  adjusting  and  fixing  the  line  above 
the  ditch  proved  insufficient  and  unreliable,  as  it  could 
not  be  readily  fixed  in  the  proper  position,  and  was  liable 

*  Farm  Drainage,  p.  233. 


HOW  TO   MAKE    TILE    DBAINS.  159 

to  displacement  in  the  progress  of  the  work.  After 
numerous  experiments,  the  method  of  adjusting  the  line, 
described  below,  was  finally  adopted,  as  the  best 
and  most  convenient,  and  a  description  of  it, 
with  illustrations,  was  published  in  the  annual 
report  of  the  Michigan  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture for  1873,  with  the  improved  form  of  drain- 
ing scoop  already  noticed  (fig.  22,  p.  126 ;  and 
fig.  30,  p.  160).  Since  that  time  the  practical 
value  of  these  improvements  in  tile-laying  has 
been  demonstrated  in  extensive  draining  opera- 
tions, in  economizing  labor,  and  in  the  accuracy 
and  permanent  character  of  the  results  obtained. 
The  directions  for  laying  tiles,  which  follow,  are 
the  results  of  practical  expe- 
rience in  the  field,  and  the 
several  steps  in  the  process  will 
be  given  in  sufficient  detail  to 
answer  all  questions  that  are 
likely  to  arise  in  ordinary  farm 
practice. 

Tools      Required. — Be- 
sides the  simple  appliances  for 
adjusting  the  line,  which  will 
soon  be  noticed,  and  ordinary 
spades     and     shovels,    a   few 
" draining    tools"   should    be 
OF  PUSH  provided    before    beginning 
OP'    draining  operations  of  any  ex- 
tent.    The  tools  that  must  be  consid- 
ered indispensable  are  three  sizes  of  the 
draining  scoop   (figs.   22  and  30),  for 
two,  three  and  four-inch  tiles,  and  two  FIG  2o.   OLD  FORM 
or  three  draining  spades,  with  blades     OF  I'ULL  SCOOP. 
sixteen  inches  long,  and  from  four  to  six  inches  wide  at 
the  point. 


160 


LAKD   DEAINING. 


The  cost  of  these  tools  need  not  exceed  six  or  seven 
dollars,  and  this  will  be  saved,  in  economizing  labor,  in 
making  but  a  few  rods  of  drain,  and,  moreover,  it  will 
be  exceedingly  difficult  to  lay  tiles,  as  they  should  be 
laid,  without  them.  The  draining  spades  can  be  obtained 
through  any  hardware  dealer,  who  will  order  them,  if 
not  kept  in  stock.  As  the  draining  scoops 
may  not  be  found  in  the  market,  a  descrip- 
tion will  be  given  that  will  enable  any 
intelligent  blacksmith  to  make  them. 
The  blades,  about  twelve  or  thirteen  inches 
in  length,  may  be  made  of  thin  sheet  steel, 
like  a  hand-saw  blade,  or  the  well-worn 
blade  of  an  old  shovel,  the  shank  being 
secured  in  the  middle  by  two  rivets,  with 
the  heads  countersunk  on  the  under  side, 
to  make  a  smooth  surface.  The  blades 
should  be  curved,  to  fit  the  outside  of  the 
tiles,  for  which  they  are  intended  to  form 
the  groove,  or  bed,  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ditch.  The  width  of  the  blades  should 
be  a  little  more  than  one-third,  and  rather 
less  than  one-half  the  outside  circumfer- 
ence of  the  tile.  The  handles  may  be 
from  four  and  one-half  to  six  feet  long, 
and  about  the  size  of  the  lower  part  of  a  FIG<  30>  MILES' 
common  rake  stale,  or  a  small  hoe  handle ;  DRAINING  SCOOP. 
and  the  aim  should  be  to  make  a  light,  handy  tool,  as 
great  strength  is  not  required  in  jointing  the  groove  to 
receive  the  tile,  or  in  throwing  out  loose  earth  from  the 
bottom  of  the  ditch.  The  draining  scoops  in  the  mar- 
ket, of  the  old  form  (figs.  28  and  29),  may  be  altered  to 
the  improved  form  (fig.  30),  by  changing  the  position 
of  the  shank,  but,  as  a  rule,  it  will  be  better  to  use  only 
the  blade,  and  make  a  new  and  lighter  shank  and  han- 
dle. Useful  scoops  for  heavier  work  may  be  made  by 


HOW  TO   MAKE   TILE   DRAINS.  16l 

cutting  off  the  sides  of  an  ordinary  long-handled  pointed 
shovel,  so  that  the  blade  is  about  six  and  one-half  or 
seven  inches  wide,  and  then  curving  it  to  fit  the  out- 
side of  a  five  or  a  six-inch  tile.  These  can  be  used 
for  clearing  the  earth  from  the  ditch  when  it  is  too 
narrow  for  the  ordinary  shovel  or  spade,  and  to  form  the 
bed  for  five  and  six  inch  tiles,  according  to  the  curve 
of  the  blade.  For  convenience,  this  will  be  called  the 
shovel  scoop. 

Ditches  for  Tile  Drains — As  the  cost  of  ditches 
depends^  to  a  great  extent,  upon  the  amount  of  earth 
moved  in  digging  them,  their  width  should  not  exceed 
what  is  required  to  give  sufficient  room  for  performing 
the  work  of  excavation  and  laying  the  tiles.  With  suit- 
able tools,  in  the  hands  of  an  experienced  workman,  a 
ditch  sixteen  inches  wide  at  the  top,  and  tapering  to 
four  inches  at  the  bottom,  may  be  dug  to  the  depth 
of  four  feet,  with  but  little  inconvenience,  and  that 
has  its  compensations  in  the  comparatively  small  amount 
of  earth  moved  in  accomplishing  the  result.  At  the 
depth  of  from  two  to  two  and  one-half  feet,  such  a  ditch 
would  be  ten  or  twelve  inches  wide,  and,  thus  far,  ordi- 
nary spades,  or  shovels,  assisted  by  the  pick,  if  necessary, 
will  be  the  most  convenient  tools  to  use.  This  leaves 
ample  room  for  the  workmen,  in  making  the  remaining 
excavation.  A  sharp  draining  spade,  with  its  rounded 
point,  may  now  be  used  to  advantage.  From  its  taper- 
ing form,  cind  the  gradually  diminishing  width  of  the 
ditch,  the  earth  chipped,  or  sliced  off,  with  it,  must  be 
thrown  out  with  a  shovel  scoop.  The  last  spading  of 
from  six  to  ten  inches  should  not  be  disturbed  until 
ready  to  lay  the  tiles.  A  ditch  from  four  to  five  inches 
wide  at  the  bottom  will  serve  for  two-inch  tiles,  and  a 
width  of  nine  inches  '13  sufficient  for  six-inch  tiles,  pro- 
vided a  straight  trench  has  been  made.  Workmen,  by 
the  day,  may  prefer  more  commodious  quarters  to  work 
11 


162  LAND    DRAINING. 

in,  but  when  paid  by  the  rod  the  discomforts  of  a  narrow 
ditch  soon  cease  to  be  a  matter  of  complaint. 

In  order  to  lay  tiles  successfully  in  a  narrow  ditch, 
it  must  be  straight,  as  any  lateral  curves  will  prevent 
the  making  of  tight  joints  between  the  ends  of  the  tiles 
as  they  are  laid.  This  should  be  kept  in  mind  through- 
out the  entire  process  of  excavation.  A  line  drawn 
upon  the  surface  should  be  the  guide,  in  beginning  the 
ditch,  as  a  curve  made  on  the  start  cannot  easily  be  cor- 
rected as  the  excavation  proceeds. 

The  use  of  the  plow  near  the  surface,  and  the  sub- 
soil plow  to  loosen  the  earth  at  greater  depths,  have  fre- 
quently been  recommended  as  labor-saving  operations  in 
digging  ditches.  If  straight  and  narrow  ditches  are 
desirable,  to  economize  the  amount  of  earth  to  be  moved, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  any  saving  in  labor  can  be  made 
by  the  use  of  the  plow,  on  ditches  for  tiles  from  two  to 
six  inches  in  diameter.  For  the  ditches  required  for 
larger  tiles,  it  is  possible  that  the  plow,  under  judicious 
management,  may  be  used  with  economy,  but  my  expe- 
rience leads  me  to  doubt  it.  It  should  be  remarked  that 
the  earth  should  always  be  thrown  out  on  one  side  of 
the  ditch,  leaving  the  other  side  clear,  for  the  distribu- 
tion of  tiles,  and  convenient  access  to  the  work  for 
various  purposes. 

Adjustment  of  the  Line. — In  order  to  lay  tiles 
on  a  uniform  slope,  which  is  especially  necessary  when 
there  is  but  little  fall,  the  grade,  as  we  have  seen,  can 
be  most  readily  established  by  measuring  from  a  line, 
drawn  over  the  middle  of  the  ditch,  at  a  convenient  dis- 
tance above  the  proposed  bed  of  the  tiles.  To  fix  this 
line  in  its  proper  position,  "shears"  are  used,  consisting 
of  two  pieces  of  light  wood,  one  inch  thick  and  about 
three  inches  wide,  and  five  to  seven  feet  long,  joined 
together  near  one  end  by  a  small  carriage  bolt,  as  repre- 
sented in  fig.  31.  The  lower  end  of  the  arms  should  be 


HOW   TO   MAKE    TILE   DRAIKS.  163 

square,  to  prevent  settling  in  the  earth  when  in  position. 
In  describing  the  method  of  adjustment  and  the  use  of 
the  line,  we  will  suppose  that,  beginning  at  the  outlet, 
several  rods  of  ditch  have  been  dug  to  within  six  to  ten 
inches  of  the  bottom.  Two  of  the  shears  are  then  placed 
astride  the  ditch,  from  four  to  six,  or  more,  rods  apart, 
one  of  them  being  over  the  point  where  the  first  tile  is 

to  be  laid,  and  adjusted  in 
height,  by  spreading,  or  con- 
tracting, the  arms,  so  that  they 
will  hold  the  line  seven  feet 
above  the  proposed  grade. 

A  small  but  strong  line, 
like  a  mason's,  or  a  fine  fishing 
line,  is  now  stretched  between 
the  two  shears,  resting  in  the 
fork,  and  making  one  turn 
around  a  short  arm  of  each  to 
prevent  slipping,  and  when 
drawn  tight  it  is  fastened  at 
each  end  to  a  peg,  driven  in 

the  ground  about  five  feet  beyond  the  foot  of  the  shears, 
and  near  the  line  of  the  ditch.  The  distance  of  the  pegs 
to  which  the  line  is  attached,  from  the  foot  of  the  shears, 
is  a  matter  of  importance,  for  the  reason  that,  if  they  are 
nearer  the  foot  of  the  shears  than  the  height  of  the  line 
above  the  ground,  the  strain  on  the  line  between  the  top 
of  the  shears  and  the  peg  will  be  greater  than  between 
the  two  shears,  and  the  line  is  liable  to  be  broken 
between  the  shears  and  the  pegs,  when  subjected  to  the 
necessary  tension  to  keep  it  straight.  The  smaller  the 
line  the  better,  provided  it  has  the  necessary  strength, 
as  the  tendency  to  sag  between  the  shears  increases  with 
the  size  of  the  line.  As  all  lines  will  sasr  more  or  less, 

O 

if  the  shears  are  several  rods  apart,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  provide  some  simple  and  convenient  means  of 


164  LAND  DRAINING. 

support  to  correct  this  defect.  The  most  satisfactory 
device  for  this  purpose  is  the  "gauge  stake,"  represented 
in  fig.  32. 

The  vertical  rod  of  hard  wood,  about  one  and  one- 
fourth  inches  in  diameter,  and  five  feet,  or  more,  in 
length  (a  long  fork  handle  will  answer), 
should  have  a  sharp  iron  point,  which  is 
readily  made  from  a  piece  of  gas  pipe,  and 
an  iron  band  around  the  upper  end  to  pre- 
vent splitting,  when  it  is  driven  into  the 
ground.  The  horizontal  arm,  about  two 
feet  long,  and  two  by  two  and  one-half 
inches  at  the  end  through  which  the  ver- 
tical rod  passes,  is  tapered  to  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  at  the  other  end,  to  diminish 
its  weight.  A  rivet,  not  shown  in  the  cut, 
should  be  put  through  the  base  of  this 
arm,  back  of  the  key  which  clamps  it  to 
the  vertical  rod.  When  the  line  is  in 
FIG.  32.  GAUGE  place  over  the  middle  of  the  ditch,  the 
rod  of  the  gauge  stake  is  driven  near  the 
margin  of  the  ditch,  and  the  horizontal  arm  is  slid  up 
under  the  line,  until  the  sag  is  corrected,  when  it  is 
secured  in  place  with  the  key  which  clamps  it  to  the 
rod.  Two  or  three  of  these  gauge  stakes  may  be  con- 
veniently used,  so  that  the  shears  can  be  placed  farther 
apart.  The  relations  of  the  line  to  the  shears  and  pegs, 
and  the  use  of  the  gauge-stakes,  will  readily  be  seen  in 
fig.  33.  The  sole  object  in  view  is  to  fix  the  line  above 
the  grade  of  the  drain,  so  that  it  is  not  likely  to  be  dis- 
placed in  laying  the  tiles,  by  means  that  will  facilitate 
its  removal  and  readjustment  in  an  advanced  position  as 
the  work  progresses. 

Other  methods  of  supporting  a  line  above  the  ditch 
to  serve  as  a  guide  in  laying  tiles  have  been  adopted. 
In  laying  sewer  pipes,  a  wider  and  deeper  ditch,  (twelve 


HOW  TO   MAKE  TILE   DRAINS. 


165 


166 


LAND   DRAINING. 


to  fifteen  feet  deep),  is  usually  required,  than  in  ordinary 
drainage,  and  stakes  are  driven  on  each  side  of  it  at  con- 
venient intervals,  and  crossbars  nailed  to  them  to  sup- 
port the  line,  in  the  manner  represented  in  fig.  34.  In 
order  to  facilitate  the  adjustment  of  the  crossbars,  and 
the  removal  of  the  apparatus  to  a  new  position,  Prof. 
R.  C.  Carpenter  has  planned  a  method  of  clamping  the 


FIG.  34. 

cross  bars  to  the  stakes,  represented  in  the  separate 
pieces  in  fig.  34,  which  will  be  found  more  convenient 
than  to  fasten  them  with  nails. 

In  my  own  experience  in  fixing  the  line,  the  iron 
clamps,  found  in  every  hardware  store,  for  fastening  the 
corners  of  quilting  frames,  have  been  used  for  clamping 
the  crossbars  to  the  stakes,  which,  on  the  whole,  is  the 
cheapest  and  most  satisfactory  method  I  have  tried. 
Where  a  wide  ditch  is  required  for  laying  the  larger 
sizes  of  tiles,  or  sewer  pipes,  at  depths  exceeding  four  or 
five  feet,  this  method  of  supporting  the  line  has  some 
advantages,  but  for  laying  tiles  of  six  inches,  or  less, 
from  four  to  five  feet  deep,  as  practiced  in  farm  drain- 
age, the  method  represented  in  fig.  33  has  proved,  in 
my  experience,  the  most  satisfactory,  as  it  is  much 
cheaper,  more  convenient,  and  less  time  is  required  in 


HOW   TO    MAKE   TILE   DRAINS.  167 

moving  and  readjusting  the  line,  while  the  apparatus, 
from  the  smaller  number  and  bulk  of  the  pieces,  has 
decided  advantages  in  portability. 

In  laying  tiles  four  feet  deep,  seven  feet  has  proved 
to  be  a  convenient  distance  to  place  the  line  above  the 
proposed  grade,  as  a  man  can  readily  work  under  it  when 
all  but  the  last  foot  of  excavation  has  been  made.  The 
position  of  the  first  tile  at  the  outlet  is  the  fixed  point 
from  which  the  grade  must  start,  and  the  line  is,  accord- 
ingly, placed  seven  feet  above  its  bed.  The  question 
will  then  arise  as  to  the  proper  height  of  the  line  at  the 
upper  shears.  If  a  depth  of  four  feet  has  *been  decided 
upon,  the  line  must,  evidently,  be  placed  three  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  its  position,  when 
so  fixed,  should  be  tested,  before  any  tiles  are  laid,  to 
ascertain,  beyond  any  doubt,  that  it  represents  a  suffi- 
cient fall  in  the  right  direction.  This  precaution  is 
absolutely  necessary  when  the  surface  is  nearly  level  and 
but  a  slight  fall  can  be  obtained.  This  verification  may 
readily  be  made  with  a  builders'  spirit  level,  which  can 
be  obtained  at  any  hardware  store  for  one  dollar,  or  less. 
When  the  line  is  in  place  the  level  held  under  it  will 
show  whether  there  is  a  good  fall  or  not ;  but  when  the 
fall  is  slight  a  more  exact  method  will  be  required. 

To  secure  greater  accuracy  in  the  use  of  the  level, 
provide  two  strips  of  board,  two  or  three  inches  wide, 
and  three  or  four  feet  long,  with  the  lower  ends  sharp- 
ened and  the  tops  square.  Drive  these  stakes  in  the 
ground  (so  that  they  will  stand  firmly),  about  twenty 
inches  apart,  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  the  middle  of 
the  line,  and  about  twenty  feet  from  it.  They  should 
be  so  placed  that  the  level  resting  on  them  is  parallel  to 
the  line,  and  it  can  then  be  leveled  by  driving  one  or  the 
other  of  the  stakes,  as  may  be  required.  When  the  level 
is  accurately  adjusted,  stand  back  of  it,  two  or  three 
feet,  and  bring  the  eye  in  range  with  its  upper  edge  and 


168  LAND   DE AIDING. 

the  line  over  the  ditch.  A  considerable  length  of  the 
line  will  then  be  seen  over  the  level,  within  the  range  of 
its  ends,  and  its  slope  will  be  readily  seen.  If  the  fall  is 
not  sufficient,  as  the  line  is  adjusted,  its  upper  end 
must  be  raised,  by  bringing  the  arms  of  its  shears  nearer 
together,  or,  if  the  indicated  fall  is  more  than  is  require J, 
the  arms  of  the  upper  shears  may  be  driven  into  the 
ground  to  lower  the  line  at  that  point,  and  the  desired 
grade  may,  in  this  way,  be  easily  established.  When 
laying  tiles  where  there  is  but  little  fall,  and  strict  accu- 
racy is  therefore  required,  it  has  been  my  practice  to 
keep  the  level  adjusted  opposite  the  line,  so  that  any 
accidental  displacement  could  be  detected  and  remedied 
without  any  delay  in  the  progress  of  the  work. 

Measuring  Rod. — When  the  line  is  properly  ad- 
justed, a  light  rod  just  seven  feet  long  is  used  to  meas- 
ure, or  gauge,  from  it,  the  grade  on  which  the  tiles  are 
to  be  laid.  As  the  excavation  should  not,  in  any  case, 
be  made  below  the  desired  grade,  from  the  difficulty  of 
filling  the  depression  so  that  the  tiles  will  not  settle 
under  the  pressure  upon  them  when  the  ditch  is  filled, 
the  measuring  rod  should  be  frequently  used  to  pscertain 
the  exact  amount  of  excavation  to  be  made.  By  placing 
the  lower  end  of  the  rod  on  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  at 
any  time,  the  distance  of  its  top  above  the  line  will,  of 
course,  indicate  the  remaining  depth  to  be  dug.  It  is 
important,  in  using  the  measuring  rod,  that  it  is  kept 
vertical  when  gauging  the  depth  of  the  drain,  and  that 
the  line  is  over  the  middle  of  the  ditch,  as  an  inclination 
of  the  rod  in  either  direction  will  have  the  effect  to 
shorten  it.  By  holding  the  rod  lightly  between  the 
thumb  and  fingers,  near  its  upper  end,  it  will  then  serve 
as  a  plumb,  to  indicate  its  proper  position  in  measuring 
from  the  line. 

When  the  tiles  are  laid  to  the  upper  shears,  the  line 
can  be  adjusted  over  the  next  section  of  the  ditch  in  a 


HOW   TO    MAKE    TILE   DKAIKS.  169 

few  minutes,  the  upper  shears  remaining  in  place,  and 
the  lower  shears  carried  forward  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
line.  This  change  in  position,  and  readjustment  of  the 
line,  can  be  made  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  describe 
the  process,  and  the  level  is  then  carried  forward  to  a 
new  position,  to  verify  the  results  of  the  new  adjustment. 

A  word  of  caution  must  here  be  given  in  regard  to 
the  use  and  care  of  the  line.  New  lines,  and  those  that 
have  been  wet,  are  liable  to  stretch,  and  constant  atten- 
tion is  required,  to  detect  and  correct  the  first  indica- 
tions of  sagging,  and  prevent  a  consequent  sag  in  the 
drain.  To  keep  the  line  dry,  and  avoid  annoyance  from 
its  variations  in  length  from  the  effects  of  moisture,  it 
should  be  taken  in  at  night,  or  whenever  work  is  sus- 
pended, and  readjusted  when  the  work  is  resumed.  If 
the  tiles  have  not  been  laid  to  the  upper  shears,  when 
work  is  suspended  at  any  time,  it  will  be  best,  in  readjust- 
ing the  line,  to  start  from  the  last  tile  laid,  by  bringing 
the  lower  shears  forward  to  it,  when  work  is  resumed, 
so  that  tiles  may  be  laid  the  whole  length  of  the  line 
before  it  is  again  moved.  These  details  may  be  looked 
upon  as  trifles  hardly  worth  mentioning,  but  success  in 
laying  tiles  will  depend  upon  attention  to  many  small 
matters,  which,  in  the  aggregate,  are  not  inconsiderable. 

How  Tiles  are  Laid. — The  ditch  having  been 
dug  to  within  eight  or  ten  inches  of  the  bottom,  and  the 
line  properly  adjusted  over  the  middle  of  the  ditch,  two 
men  may  begin  the  work  of  finishing  the  excavation  and 
laying  the  tiles,  which  we  will  suppose  are  for  a  four- 
inch  main,  beginning  at  the  outlet.  A  level-headed  boy, 
or  the  proprietor  as  superintendent  if  he  does  not  pre- 
fer to  lay  the  tiles  himself,  will  facilitate  the  work  by 
managing  the  measuring  rod,  and  performing  any  other 
service  that  may  be  required,  from  time  to  time,  outside 
the  ditch. 

One  of  the  men  standing  in  the  ditch,  with  his  face 
towards  the  outlet,  with  the  six-inch  draining  spade, 


170 


DRAINING. 


slices  off  the  earth,  or  loosens  it  to  nearly  the  required 
depth,  moving  backwards  as  the  work  progresses,  while 
the  tile-layer  stands  facing  him  and  throws  out  the  loose 
earth  with  a  shovel  scoop,  or  the  draining  scoop,  fig.  30, 
as  may  be  most  convenient.  When  the  excavation  has 
been  finished  for  a  distance  of  three  or  four  feet,  the 
tile-layer  planes  a  groove  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  with 
the  draining  scoop,  to  the  required  grade,  as  gauged 
with  the  measuring  rod,  and  lays  two  or  three  tiles  in  it 
with  their  ends  closely  in  contact,  and  covers  them  with 
five  or  six  inches  of  earth,  on  which  he  then  stands, 


FIG.  35. 

packing  it  around  the  tiles  as  he  proceeds  with  his  work. 
The  next  section  of  the  ditch  is  then  prepared  for  three 
or  four  tiles  by  a  repetition  of  the  process  of  excavation 
— planing  a  groove  for  the  tiles — laying  them  and  cov- 
ering with  earth,  to  form  a  platform  on  which  the  tile 
layer  advances,  and  the  same  routine  is  again  repeated. 
By  following  this  system,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
feet  of  the  workmen  are  not  within  eight  or  ten  inches 


HOW   TO   MAKE    TILE   DRAINS.  171 

of  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  the  man  with  the  draining 
spade  standing  on  the  earth  to  be  excavated,  and  the 
tile  layer  on  his  underdrained  platform,  as  represented 
in  fig.  35,  is  exempt  from  the  annoyances  from  mud  and 
water  that  are  usually  associated  with  the  work  of  drain- 
ing. If  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  is  soft,  and  water  is 
running  over  it,  the  man  with  the  draining  spade  will 
be  standing  in  mud,  which  will  interfere  with  his  effi- 
ciency and  the  general  progress  of  the  work.  This  can, 
however,  be  obviated  in  a  very  simple  way,  that  more 
than  repays  the  extra  trouble  it  involves.  A  one  and 
one-half  or  two  inch  pine  plank  about  six  feet  long,  and 
a  little  narrower  than  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  is  laid 
down  for  him  to  stand  on.  Near  the  upper  end  of  the 
plank  a  hole  should  be  bored,  in  which  a  small  rope  is 
tied,  its  free  end  being  thrown  over  the  edge  of  the  ditch 
to  keep  it  out  of  the  mud.  With  this  the  plank  can  be 
pulled  back  from  time  to  time,  as  may  be  required. 

In  the  judicious  application  of  this  method  the 
draining  spade  and  the  draining  scoop  are  kept  in  sup- 
porting distance,  each  man  being  able  to  aid  the  other 
in  any  exigency  that  may  arise,  and  their  efficiency, 
through  their  combined  efforts,  will  be  materially 
increased.  If  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  is  hard,  or  small 
stones  or  pebbles  interfere  with  the  free  use  of  the  drain- 
ing scoop,  the  draining  spade  is  within  reach,  and  its 
rounded  point  will  readily  chip  out  and  loosen  the 
obstructions.  The  man  with  the  draining  spade  must 
constantly  be  on  the  lookout  to  facilitate  the  work  of 
the  tile  layer,  by  making  a  straight  trench,  and  render- 
ing any  assistance  that  is  made  possible  from  the  advan- 
tages of  his  position.  With  the  exercise  of  ordinary 
skill  and  judgment  in  making  the  last  excavation,  frag- 
ments of  soil  and  mud  may  be  prevented  from  entering 
the  open  mouth  of  the  drain,  by  keeping  the  ditch  clean, 
and  finished  to  the  grade,  by  the  use  of  the  draining 


172  LAND   DRAINING. 

scoop,  for  a  short  distance  above  the  last  tile  laid,  and 
this  will  serve  also  us  a  starting  point  for  the  scoop  in 
planing  the  groove  for  the  next  tiles. 

Protection  of  the  Joints. — Drains  of  moderate 
fall  are  liable  to  obstruction  if  silt  is  allowed  to  enter 
them,  and  the  joints  between  the  tiles  should  be  suffi- 
ciently close  to  keep  it  out.  To  secure  this  essential 
condition,  attention  must  be  especially  directed  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  joints,  as  silt  from  ordinary  soils  will 
readily  work  down  into  the  drain  through  small  fissures 
in  the  upper  half  of  the  tiles,  while  it  would  not  pass 
through  considerably  wider  ones  on  their  under  side. 
Close  joints  at  the  top  of  the  tiles  must,  then,  be  looked 
upon  as  absolutely  necessary,  while,  in  the  lower  half  of 
the  joints,  close  approximations  of  the  ends  of  the  tiles 
are,  of  course,  desirable,  and  care  should  be  taken  to 
secure  them,  yet  they  are  not  as  imperatively  required 
to  insure  the  permanence  of  the  drain. 

Tight  joints  at  the  top  of  the  old-fashioned  sole, 
and  horseshoe  tiles,  could  seldom  be  made,  and  the 
defect  was  remedied  by  laying  a  piece  of  sod  over  the 
joint  before  covering  the  tiles  with  earth.  Even  the 
round  tiles  of  a  few  years  ago  frequently  had  uneven 
ends,  so  that  perfect  joints  conld  not  readily  be  made, 
and  a  protection  of  sods,  or  other  materials,  was  needed, 
to  make  a  reliable  drain.  The  labor  involved  in  cutting 
and  distributing  sods  along  the  line  of  the  drain,  was  a 
serious  objection  to  their  use,  and  in  many  cases  they 
could  not,  without  great  trouble,  be  obtained.  The  best 
and  cheapest  substitute  for  sods,  all  things  considered, 
according  to  my  experience,  was  found  to  be  strips  of 
tarred  roofing  paper,  about  two  inches  wide,  and  long 
enough  to  cover  the  upper  half  of  the  joints,  as  they 
were  convenient  to  use,  could  be  kept  alwavs  ready 
when  needed,  and  served  the  purpose  admirably. 

With  greater  care  in  the  manufacture  of  tiles,  aris- 
ing from  increased  competition,  and  when  the  best  qual- 


HOW   TO   MAKE    TILE   DRAINS.  173 

ity  of  clay,  free  from  pebbles,  is  used,  these  defects  are 
not  as  common,  but  they  have  not  entirely  disappeared. 
When  the  ends  of  the  tiles  are  square,  and  reasonably 
true,  so  that  close  fitting  joints  can  be  made  by  rotating 
the  last  tile  in  its  bed,  as  it  is  laid,  there  is  really  no 
need  of  any  protection  as  a  general  rule,  as  ordinary 
soils,  when  firmly  packed  over  the  tiles,  will  not  work 
through  into  the  drains.  If  the  ends  of  the  tiles,  how- 
ever, are  not  in  contact  at  the  top,  and  a  space  is  left 
that  will  admit  a  thin  knife-blade,  they  should  be  cov- 
ered with  strips  of  tarred  paper,  or  some  other  material, 
and  it  may  be  well,  as  a  matter  of  precaution,  to  cover 
all  of  the  joints  when  laying  tiles,  if  actual  contact  of 
their  ends  in  the  upper  half  of  the  joints  cannot  quite 
Uniformly  be  secured.  While  tight  joints  need  no  pro- 
tection, too  much  care  cannot  be  exercised  in  thoroughly 
covering  and  protecting  all  imperfect  joints. 

Laterals  and  Junctions. — Main  and  sub-main 
drains  should,  if  possible,  be  laid,  as  already  suggested, 
at  least  their  diameter  lower  than  the  branches,  or  lat- 
erals, which  empty  into  them,  so  that  the  drains  may 
run  full  without  setting  back  water  into  its  tributaries, 
and  checking  the  flow  of  water  in  them.  Laterals 
should,  therefore,  enter  a  main  drain  near  its  top,  or 
crown,  and  at  an  angle  that  will  favor  the  discharge  of 
their  water  with  the  current  towards  the  outlet.  A  dis- 
charge of  water  into  a  drain  at  right  angles  to  its  course 
will  check  its  current,  and  if  the  drain  is  running  full 
this  will,  in  effect,  diminish  its  capacity. 

When  the  course  of  a  lateral  is  nearly,  or  quite,  at 
right  angles  to  the  main  into  which  it  is  to  empty,  a 
change  in  its  direction  on  a  gradual  curve,  will  be 
required  just  before  it  reaches  the  main,  so  that  a  junc- 
tion may  be  made  for  its  discharge  in  the  general  course 
of  the  current  towards  the  outlet.  If  the  main  is  low 
enough  to  allow  it,  a  slight  increase  in  the  fall  on  this 
curve  will  be  desirable. 


174 


LAND    DRAINING. 


Manufacturers  of  tiles  now  make  Y,  fig.  36,  and  V, 
fig.  37,  junctions  for  tiles  of  all  sizes,  and  curves,  fig.  38, 
of  different  degrees  of  cur  vat  are,  for  changing  the  direc- 
tion of  drains. 

When  the  mains  are  laid  these  junctions  may  be 
put  in  where  the  laterals  are  required,  the  end  of  the 
branch  being  closed  with  a  flat  stone,  or  piece  of  brick, 


FIG.  36.    T  JUNCTION. 


FIG.  37.     V  JUNCTION. 


until  needed.  An  accurate  record  of  these  junctions 
should  be  made  on  the  map,  so  that  they  can  easily  be 
found  when  the  laterals  are  to  be  laid.  Their  place  in 
the  field  may  also  be  marked  with  a  stake,  but  this  is 
liable  to  be  displaced,  and  should  not  be  the  only  record. 
Even  with  these  aids  in  construc- 
tion, it  will,  in  most  oases,  be 
found  necessary  to  cut  tiles,  more 
or  less,  to  form  perfect  joints  in 
making  connection  with  them,  and 
avoid  abrupt  angles  in  the  drain. 
Tile  Picks.— The  tools  re- 
quired for  this  purpose,  and  for 
cutting  and  fitting  tiles  in  other  places,  are  the  hammer 
pick,  fig.  39,  or  the  hatchet  pick,  fig.  40.  With  a  little 
practice  tiles  may  be  cut,  and  junctions  readily  made, 
with  either  of  these  tools.  In  my  own  practice,  for  sev- 
eral years,  the  hammer  form  has  almost  always  been 
used,  as,  on  the  whole,  the  most  convenient.  These 
tools  should  be  made  of  the  best  steel,  and  have  a  cold- 
chisel  temper,  in  order  to  cut  well  burned  tiles.  The 


FIG.  38.   CURVES. 


HOW  TO   MAKE    TILE   DRAINS. 


175 


head  of  the  hammer  pick  may  be  about  seven-eighths  of 
an  inch  square  at  the  largest  point,  and  four  and  one- 
fourth  inches  long,  or  about  the  weight  of  a  light  rivet- 
ing hammer,  the  sides  and  face  being  flat,  with  sharp 
angles  all  round.  The  point  of  both  tools  should  ter- 
minate in  an  abrupt  bevel, 
like  the  edge  of  a  cold-chisel, 
as  a  slender  point  will  break, 
and  cannot  be  kept  sharp. 
The  "edge"  of  the  hatchet 
pick  should  have  a  similar 
bevel,  or  it  may  be  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  wide  and 
ground  flat  at  right  angles 
to  its  sides. 

To    make    a    junction, 
pick  a  hole  through  the  side 


FIG.  39.  HAMMER  PICK. 
of  a  tile  from  the  main,  with  the 
point  of  one  of  these  tools,  and  en- 
large it  in  an  oblong  form,  the  width 
being  about  equal  to  the  inside  diam- 
eter of  the  tile  which  is  to  form  the 
branch.  The  end  of  this  branch 
tile  is  then  beveled  and  hollowed 
out  to  fit  the  outside  of  the  tile  from 
the  main  at  the  proper  angle.  When  a  good  fit  is 
made  by  chipping  with  the  point,  or  cutting  with  the 
sharp  angles  of  the  hammer  or  hatchet,  as  may  be  most 
convenient,  place  the  branch  in  its  proper  position  over 
the  hole  in  the  tile  from  the  main,  and  by  looking 


FIG.  40.    HATCHET  PICK. 


176  LAND   DRAINING. 

through  its  bore  the  additional  cutting  or  trimming  of 
the  hole  in  the  main,  that  is  required  to  allow  a  free  dis- 
charge from  the  lateral,  will  readily  be  seen.  When  the 
fitting  of  the  two  tiles  together  is  finished  they  are  laid 
in  position  in  the  drain,  and  the  earth  packed  around 
them  to  hold  the  branch  in  place. 

To  Lay  the  Laterals,  begin  at  a  junction  laid  in 
the  main,  and  make  a  connection  with  its  branch  by  cut- 
ting the  ends  of  the  first  tiles  more  or  less  obliquely,  to 
make  good  joints,  and  give  the  proper  direction  for  the 
tiles  to  be  laid.  Care  must  be  taken  to  secure  a  firm 
bed  for  these  connections,  by  making  as  little  excavation 
as  possible  to  bring  the  tiles  to  their  place,  and  in  cover- 
ing them  the  earth  must  be  packed  to  prevent  any  dis- 
placement when  the  ditch  is  filled.  The  ditch  for  the 
laterals  is  dug,  the  shears  and  line  adjusted,  and  the 
tiles  laid,  as  described  above  in  the  case  of  the  main 
drain,  the  lower  shears  being  placed  over  the  junction 
at  the  point  where  the  true  grade  of  the  lateral  begins. 
When  the  laterals  are  finished  the  ends  of  the  last  tiles 
should  be  carefully  covered  with  a  half  brick,  or  a  flat 
stone,  to  keep  out  silt. 

When  ready-made  junctions  cannot  be  obtained  the 
mains  may  be  laid  without  reference  to  the  laterals,  or 
junctions  may  be  made  with  a  tile  pick  for  the  laterals 
that  are  to  be  laid  at  the  time,  care  being  taken  to  pre- 
vent any  displacement  of  the  branch  before  the  laterals 
are  connected  with  it.  After  reaching  a  junction,  it 
will  be  seen  that  two  gangs  of  hands  may  be  employed 
at  the  same  time,  if  desirable,  the  one  laying  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  main,  and  the  other  laying  the  lateral. 

After  a  main  has  been  finished  and  a  lateral  is  to  be 
laid,  at  any  time,  where  no  junction  has  been  provided, 
let  the  ditch  for  the  lateral  begin  over  the  main,  bearing 
in  mind  the  curve  required  at  the  lower  end  of  the  lat- 
eral in  making  the  connection,  and  uncover  the  tile  in 


HOW   TO   MAKE    TILE   DRAINS.  177 

which  the  junction  is  to  be  made.  After  removing  the 
earth  from  its  side  towards  the  ditch  as  far  as  may  be 
necessary,  roll  it  out  of  its  bed,  pick  a  hole  at  the  poinc 
previously  marked  for  the  branch,  which  is  then  fitted 
to  form  a  junction.  The  tile  taken  from  the  main  is 
then  returned  to  its  former  place,  the  branch  is  secured 
in  its  proper  position,  and  the  connecting  tiles  are  laid 
to  the  beginning  of  the  straight  course  of  the  lateral, 
after  which  the  work  is  carried  on  according  to  the  reg- 
ular routine.  A  change  in  direction,  or  a  curve  in  a 
drain,  may  be  made,  by  trimming  the  ends  of  the  tiles 
to  a  slight  angle  and  smoothing  the  surface  to  make  a 
tight  joint. 


CHAPTER   X. 
DRAINS  IN  QUICKSAND  AND  PEAT. 

Beds,  or  pockets,  of  quicksand  are  frequently  found 
within  four  feet  of  the  surface,  in  many  localities  in  the 
drift  formation,  and  they  have  been  looked  upon  as  seri- 
ous obstacles  in  draining,  that  could  not  be  surmounted 
when  tiles  alone  are  used.  Boards  and  foundations  of 
stones  to  support  the  drain,  or  conduits  of  planks,  and 
built-up  drains  of  stones,  wrere  Believed  to  be  necessary, 
by  writers  who  gave  any  attention  to  draining  in  quick- 
sand,* and  in  late  years  collars  are  frequently  mentioned 
as  indispensable  if  tiles  are  used.  These  expensive 
methods,  in  connection  with  the  popular  notion  that 
quicksand  will  work  into  a  drain  wherever  water  can 
enter,  have  tended  to  discourage  attempts  to  drain  land 
which  might  be  made  valuable  by  a  comparatively  mod- 

*  Henry  Stephens,  Manual  of  Pract,.  Drain.,  3d  ed.,  1848,  p.  14. 
Mnnn's  Pract.  Lund  Drainer,  N.  Y.,  1855,  p.  132.  French,  Farm  Drain- 
age, 1859,  p.  314.  London,  Encyol.  of  Agr'l,  6th  ed.,  1869,  p.  702. 

J./V 


178  LAND   DRAINING. 

erale  outlay  under  a  more  consistent  system  of  manage- 
ment. Boards  and  stones  should  never  be  used  in  quick- 
sand,, as  they  serve  no  useful  purpose,  and  materially 
increase  the  difficulties  of  construction;  while  collars 
only  serve  to  hide  imperfect  joints,  and  are,  therefore,  a 
source  of  weakness  in  the  finished  drain.  A  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  properties  of  quicksand,  and  its  behav- 
ior under  different  conditions,  will  suggest  the  most 
available  means  of  obviating  the  difficulties  presented  in 
its  management. 

What  is  known  as  quicksand,  flowing-sand,  or  run- 
ning-sand, is  a  fine-grained  sand,  without  angles  in  its 
particles  to  increase  friction,  and  sometimes  mixed  with 
fine  clay,  that  is  easily  moved  when  saturated  with 
water,  and  readily  yields  to  intermittent  pressure.  It  is 
freely  transported  by  running  water,  but,  when  closely 
confined  and  kept  in  place,  it  resists  continuous  pres- 
sure, and  when  thoroughly  drained  it  furnishes  a  stable 
foundation  for  tiles  that  are  properly  laid  to  drain  it. 
If  a  pocket,  or  bed,  of  quicksand  is  met  with  in  digging 
a  ditch,  and  the  level  of  the  water  table  is  above  the 
sand,  it  offers  no  resistance  to  the  hydrostatic  pressure 
and  runs  into  the  ditch  as  fast  as  it  is  removed,  keeping 
the  level  required  to  establish  an  equilibrium  between 
its  own  weight  and  the  pressure  to  which  it  is  subjected. 
If  the  excavation  is  continued,  under  these  conditions, 
the  banks  of  the  ditch  are  undermined  and  cave  off,  fill- 
ing it  with  a  mass  of  earth,  which  must  be  removed, 
*md  this  process  may  be  repeated,  if  further  excavations 
are  made.  When  the  water  has  considerable  head,  as  it 
will  have,  in  a  wet  season,  or  in  the  case  of  springs,  the 
sand  will  "boil  up"  into  the  ditch,  filling  it  to  a  greater 
or  less  height,  according  to  the  head  of  water  to  which 
it  is  exposed. 

These  facts  are  suggestive,  and  of  great  practical 
significance.  From  its  characteristic  qualities,  quick- 


DRAINS  IN   QUICKSAND.  1?0 

sand  varies  in  its  behavior  with  the  conditions  of  its 
environment,  and,  in  dealing  with  it,  the  conditions  must 
be  provided  which  increase  its  stability,  and  these  may 
be  formulated  in  the  following  rules  for  its  successful 
management  in  draining  :  1st.  In  land  in  which  quick- 
sands abound,  drains  should  only  be  made  in  the  sum- 
mer, when  the  water  table  is  at  its  lowest  level.  2d. 
When  quicksand  is  found  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  it 
should  not  be  disturbed  until  the  tiles  are  ready  to  be 
laid.  3d.  The  mouth  of  the  tile  which  has  been  laid 
into  the  edge  of  the  quicksand  should  be  covered  with  a 
sod,  grass-side  down,  or  some  other  form  of  screen,  to 
keep  sand  from  flowing  into  the  drain,  and  work  should 
be  suspended  until  the  water  table  is  lowered  to  the  level 
of  the  drain.  4th.  The  ditch  should  not  be  opened,  to 
expose  the  quicksand,  more  than  a  rod  or  two  in  advance 
of  the  tile-laying.  The  pertinence  of  these  rules  will 
readily  be  seen  from  the  fact,  that  in  time  of  drouth, 
ditches  are  dug  and  tiles  laid  in  fine  sand,  without  any 
difficulty,  when  the  same  sand,  if  flooded,  or  saturated 
with  water,  would  at  once  be  recognized  as  a  bad  form 
of  quicksand. 

In  my  first  experience  with  quicksand  in  draining, 
the  attempt  was  made  to  follow  the  usual  practice  of 
curbing  the  sides  of  the  ditch  and  proceeding  at  once 
with  the  tile-laying  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The  expense 
involved  in  this  method,  and  the  unsatisfactory  results 
obtained,  soon  convinced  me  that  it  was  better  to  wait 
for  the  water  table  to  be  lowered  by  the  drain  already 
laid,  and  this  has  proved  to  be  the  most  economical  and 
only  satisfactory  plan.  It  is  certainly  better  to  stop 
work  for  a  few  days,  or  a  week,  or  more,  if  necessary, 
according  to  the  extent  of  the  quicksand,  and  the 
amount  of  water  to  be  discharged,  than  to  perform 
disagreeable  labor  under  difficulties,  without  obtaining 
any  equivalent  in  actual  progress. 


180  LAND   DRAINING. 

The  dangers  of  obstruction  from  the  sand  entering 
the  drain  are  not  as  imminent  as  at  first  sight  might 
appear,  if  care  is  taken  to  place  a  sod  over  the  end  of 
the  upper  tile  whenever  work  is  suspended,  and  the 
drain  has  been  laid  on  a  true  grade,  with  even  a  moder- 
ate fall,  increasing  towards  the  outlet.  From  the  form 
of  the  channel  in  a  round  tile,  quicksand  is  moved  by  a 
slight  current,  that  would  not  affect  coarser  particles  of 
angular  sand,  and  if  it  enters  the  drain  in  but  moderate 
amount  it  passes  on  and  is  discharged  at  the  outlet. 
Where  there  are  depressions  in  the  line  of  the  grade  the 
sand  will,  undoubted!}7,  be  deposited,  and  the  import- 
ance of  laying  the  tiles  on  a  true  grade,  with  a  constant 
descent  towards  the  outlet,  must  be  manifest.  With 
reasonable  care  in  every  step  of  the  process  of  tile  laying, 
it  will  not  be  difficult  to  prevent  the  sand  from  entering 
the  drain  in  sufficient  quantity  to  form  an  obstruction. 

Tile  Laying  in  Quicksand. — The  water  table  hav- 
ing been  lowered  so  that  work  can  be  resumed,  the  line 
is  adjusted  over  the  ditch,  with  the  lower  shears  directly 
over  the  last  tile  laid.  As  sand  only  is  to  be  excavated, 
scoops  will  alone  be  used.  The  tile  layer,  witli  a  drain- 
ing scoop  (fig.  30),  stands  in  the  ditch  on  the  earth  cov- 
ering the  tiles  already  laid,  and  his  assistant,  if  needed, 
with  a  shovel  scoop,  stands  on  the  movable  plank  in  the 
ditch,  rather  farther  back  than  when  using  the  draining 
spade.  Walking  or  standing  in  the  ditch  without  the 
protection  of  the  plank  to  distribute  a  person's  weight 
over  a  larger  surface  than  the  unprotected  feet,  should 
be  strictly  prohibited. 

How  to  Use  the  Scoop. — The  excavation  for  the 
tiles  must  now  be  made  with  great  care,  to  prevent  any 
unnecessary  disturbance  of  the  sand,  and  success  will 
largely  depend  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  scoop  is 
used,  if  there  is  water  still  running  in  the  ditch.  When 
the  blade  of  the  scoop  is  in  the  sand,  if  its  handle  is 


DRAINS  IN   QUICKSAND.  181 

depressed,  the  air  cannot  enter  under  its  point,  and  sand 
will  be  forced  up  from  below,  or  pressed  in  at  the  sides, 
to  fill  the  space  through  which  the  point  of  the  blade 
has  moved,  and  when  the  scoopful  of  sand  is  lifted  the 
disturbed  sand  from  the  sides  of  the  drain  will  move  in 
to  fill  its  place.  To  prevent  this  unstable  condition  of 
the  sand  the  blade  of  the  scoop  should  be  pressed  into  it 
with  a  firm  and  steady  movement,  and  its  heel  gently 
raised  to  admit  the  air  under  it,  when  it  can  be  raised 
with  its  load  without  causing  an  inrush  of  sand  to  fill 
the  excavation.  The  aim  should  be  to  raise  the  load  on 
the  scoop  without  communicating  any  tremor  or  jar  to 
the  surrounding  sand.  Whether  a  groove  will  be  left  in 
the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  or  not,  when  a  scoopful  of 
sand  is  thrown  out,  will  then  depend  upon  the  manner 
in  which  the  work  is  performed.  When  an  excavation 
is  being  made  in  quicksand,  it  is  in  unstable  equilibrium, 
and  any  sudden  jar  or  tremulous  movement  of  anything 
in  contact  with  it  will  set  it  in  motion.  For  this  reason 
the  measuring  rod  must  be  used  with  care,  its  lower  end 
barely  touching  the  bottom  of  the  groove  when  getting 
the  gauge  of  the  grade  from  the  line  over  the  ditch. 

A  bed  having  been  made  for  two  tiles,  and  the 
length  of  the  blade  of  the  scoop  beyond,  if  possible, 
they  are  carefully  laid,  with  particular  attention  to  mak- 
ing tight  joints,  which  are  then  covered  with  a  thin 
piece  of  a  firm  sod,  or  a  strip  of  tarred  paper.  If  the 
sod  extends  beyond  the  sides  of  the  tiles  it  will  do  no 
harm,  but  it  should  be  put  in  place  without  any  jar  to 
disturb  the  sand.  With  the  same  precautions  fine  earth, 
free  from  lumps,  should  now  be  placed  over  the  tiles  to 
the  depth  of  several  inches.  Moreover,  in  packing  it, 
the  pressure  must  be  the  same  on  each  side  of  the  tiles, 
but  when  the  ditch  is  filled  above  the  level  of  the  wet 
sand  it  will  be  safe  to  walk  or  stand  upon  it,  in  the  exca- 
vation and  laying  the  tiles  in  the  next  section,  but  it 


182  LAND   DRAINING. 

will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  unstable  character  of 
the  soil  beneath. 

In  most  cases  tiles  may  be  laid,  in  this  way,  through 
the  partly  drained  quicksand,  with  satisfactory  accuracy, 
without  any  serious  difficulty,  but  sometimes  an  extra 
soft  place  may  be  found  for  a  short  distance,  where  the 
ditch  passes  over  a  copious  spring,  in  which  it  may  be 
necessary  to  lay  sods  to  furnish  a  sufficient  support  for 
the  tiles  until  they  are  covered  with  earth.  In  such  an 
emergency  the  sods  should  be  of  nearly  uniform  thick- 
ness and  cover  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  from  side  to  side, 
after  the  excavation  has  been  made  as  close  to  the  desired 
grade  as  the  conditions  will  permit.  To  lay  a  tile,  in 
such  cases,  place  it  on  the  sod,  and  stand  with  one  foot 
upon  it  to  bring  it  to  the  grade,  and  make  a  joint  with 
the  preceding  tile.  If  it  settles  too  low,  place  thin  sods 
under  it  until  it  is  brought  to  the  grade  when  bearing  a 
man's  weight,  and  cover  the  joint  with  a  wide  sod,  and 
pack  the  earth  on  each  side  and  over  it  when  still  under 
pressure.  The  measuring  rod,  to  determine  the  proper 
grade,  should  be  used  from  the  top  of  the  tile,  the  diam- 
eter of  which  should  be  marked  on  the  upper  end  of  the 
rod  to  gauge  with  the  line.  With  sufficient  care,  and 
the  exercise  of  a  little  ingenuity  and  judgment,  such 
places  may  be  bridged  over  with  satisfactory  results,  and 
the  drain  kept  to  the  required  grade. 

Several  years  after  laying  tiles  in  the  manner 
described  above,  through  an  unusually  bad  bed  of  quick- 
sand, the  top  of  which  was  nearly  two  feet  above  the 
grade  of  the  drain,  the  tiles  were  uncovered  for  a  dis- 
tance of  between  two  and  three  rods,  to  ascertain  whether 
any  displacement  had  taken  place  when  they  were  laid. 
The  drain  was  found  to  be  in  perfect  condition,  and  the 
tiles  varied  less  than  half  an  inch  from  a  true  grade, 
and  the  permanent  character  of  the  work  was  evident. 
In  numerous  similar  cases  drains  are  running  well  that 


DRAINS   IN      PEAT.  183 

have  been  laid  more  than  fifteen  years,  without  any 
known  instance  of  failure. 

Tiles  in  Peat. — Tiles  laid  in  peaty  soils  are  much 
more  liable  to  displacement  than  when  well  laid  in  quick- 
sand, and  care  in  laying  them  is  necessary  to  secure  a 
permanent  drain.  In  draining  marsh  lands  where  the 
peat  extends  below  the  grade  of  the  drains,  it  may  not 
be  advisable  to  lay  tiles  until  the  soil  has  been  allowed 
to  settle,  after  draining  with  open  ditches.  When  tiles 
are  laid  in  peat  the  excavation  should  never  be  made 
below  the  line  of  grade,  from  the  difficulty  of  filling  the 
depression,  to  secure  a  uniform  grade  in  the  drain  when 
the  ditches  are  filled.  On  account  of  the  unstable  char- 
acter of  peat  as  a  foundation  for  a  tile  drain,  three-inch 
laterals  have  been  used,  and  they  appear  to  have  a  num- 
ber of  advantages  over  smaller  sizes. 

Marsh  soils,  containing  a  large  proportion  of  peat, 
become  more  compact  when  drained,  thus  diminishing 
the  depth  of  soil  above  the  drains.  It  is  a  common 
error,  in  draining  swamps,  to  make  the  drains  too  shal- 
low, and  the  subsequent  shrinking,  or  settling  of  the 
soil,  brings  them  still  nearer  the  surface.  If  a  suitable 
outlet  can  be  secured,  tiles  in  peaty  soils  should  be  laid, 
at  least  four  feet  deep,  and  it  would  be  better  to  have 
that  depth  after  the  soil  has  settled.  Marsh  lands  should 
be  thoroughly  drained,  in  order  to  give  the  best  results, 
as  they  are  naturally  retentive  of  moisture,  and,  if  they 
are  saturated  with  water  for  a  considerable  time  in  a  wet 
spring,  their  value  during  the  following  season  will  be 
very  much  impaired,  through  defective  soil  metabolism. 

Most  of  the  failures  in  draining  marsh  lands  that 
have  come  under  my  observation  are  clearly  attributable 
to  insufficient  drainage,  and  the  flooding  of  the  soil  in 
wet  seasons,  or  in  wet  spring  months.  The  facts  pre- 
sented in  chapter  five,  in  regard  to  the  capacity  of 
drained  soils  to  absorb  and  retain  capillary  water,  and 


184  LAND   DRAINING. 

the  beneficial  effects  of  deep  and  thorough  drainage  in 
times  of  drouth,  must  be  sufficient  to  indicate  the  falla- 
cies of  the  unfounded  assumption,  that  there  is  danger 
of  making  marsh  soils  too  dry  by  thorough  draining. 
A  deep  range  for  root  distribution  is  quite  as  important 
in  peaty,  as  in  upland  soils,  and  shallow  drainage  is  not 
a  rational  .remedy  for  prospective  drouths.  Peaty  soils, 
as  a  general  rule,  yield  slowly  to  the  ameliorating  effects 
of  draining,  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  and 
the  water  table  must  be  kept  uniformly  below  the  stratum 
of  soil  it  is  proposed  to  make  available  for  growing  crops, 
in  order  to  obtain  satisfactory  results. 


CHAPTER  XL 

OUTLETS  AND  OBSTRUCTIONS. 

One  of  the  essential  conditions  of  an  efficient  drain, 
or  system  of  drains,  is  a  sufficient  outlet  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  water  brought  to  it  without  checking  or 
retarding  its  current.  When  the  outfall  will  permit,  it 
may  be  advisable  to  lay  the  tiles  deeper  at  the  outlet, 
and  for  some  distance  up  the  main,  to  secure  a  better 
fall  in  the  drains  tributary  to  it,  especially  when  the 
surface  of  the  area  to  be  drained  is  nearly  level.  Lat- 
erals discharging  directly  into  an  open  ditch*,  or  creek, 
are  particularly  liable  to  a  displacement,  or  obstruction, 
of  the  tiles  at  the  mouth  of  the  drains,  from  various 
causes  that  need  not  be  enumerated.  Instead  of  these 
numerous  outlets,  that  require  constant  attention  to 
keep  them  in  working  order,  it  will  be  better  to  lay  an 
intercepting  main  some  distance  back  of  the  open  ditch, 
or  other  water  course,  to  collect  and  discharge  the  water 
at  a  single  outlet  which  can  be  suitably  protected.  On 


OUTLETS    A.ND    OBSTRUCTIONS.  185 

the  whole,  this  will  result  in  a  saving  of  expense,  and, 
what  is  quite  as  important,  it  will  insure  efficiency  in  the 
system  of  drainage. 

Outlet  of  Drains. — The  outlets  of  tile  drains 
should  be  protected  from  the  dangers  of  displacement  by 
the  action  of  frost,  the  washing  of  the  banks  where  they 
come  to  the  surface,  and  the  treading  of  cattle,  and  pro- 
visions should  be  made  to  keep  vermin  from  entering 
the  drain  to  cause  an  obstruction.  The  best,  and,  in  the 
long  run,  the  cheapest,  protection  for  the  outlet,  is  a 
retaining  wall  of  stones,  laid  in  cement  mortar,  the 
foundation  extending  below  the  action  of  frost,  and  the 
top  carried  three  feet,  or  more,  above  the  drain,  to  sup- 
port the  earth  covering  its  approach  to  the  outlet.  The 
tiles  at  the  outlet  should  be  well  burned,  and  impervious 
to  water,  to  prevent  crumbling  by  frost,  and  the  ter- 
minal tile,  projecting  several  inches  from  the  face  of  the 
retaining  wall,  should  be  a  size  larger  than  those  above 
it,  to  provide  room  and  opportunity  for  protection  by  a 
grating,  or  other  device,  to  keep  out  vermin,  without 
impeding  the  discharge  from  the  drain.  A  length  of 
glazed  sewer  pipe,  a  size  larger  than  the  drain,  will  form 
an  efficient  and  convenient  outlet,  with  advantages  that 
will  readily  be  recognized.  A  grating  of  some  kind 
should  be  placed  over  the  end  of  the  drain,  to  keep  out 
vermin,  or  a  valve,  placed  obliquely  at  the  end,  or  just 
within  the  last  tile,  so  that  it  will  open  freely  by  the 
force  of  the  current,  and  close  as  the  flow  of  water 
diminishes,  will  serve  the  same  purpose  if  properly 
adjusted.  As  the  efficiency  of  the  entire  system  of  drain- 
age depends  upon  a  free  discharge  of  water  at  the  outlet, 
these  precautions  to  prevent  any  displacement  of  the 
tiles,  and  to  guard  against  possible  causes  of  obstruction, 
cannot  be  considered  as  of  minor  importance. 

The  exercise  of  good  judgment,  and  skill  in  engin- 
eering, may,  in  many  cases,  be  required  to  make  the 


186  LAND   DRAINING. 

best  location  for  the  lower  course  of  a  main  drain,  and 
in  deciding  upon  the  most  available  outlet.  When  the 
nut  oral  surface  drainage  of  a  field  is  over  lands  of  an 
adjoining  owner,  and  a  long  line  of  drain  would  be 
required  to  follow  the  lowest  line  of  descent,  a  short  cut 
may  sometimes  be  made  by  a  deeply  laid  main,  with  a 
saving  in  expense,  and  at  the  same  time  an  undesirable 
partnership  interest  in  the  drain  may  be  avoided.  In 
Mr.  Woods'  system  of  drainage,  which  has  already  been 
noticed,  a  considerable  saving  in  the  expense  was  effected, 
and  the  drain  kept  on  his  own  land,  by  making  a  cut  of 
more  than  twice  the  depth  of  the  rest  of  the  drain  for 
the  five-inch  main,  for  several  rods  through  a  ridge,  and 
a  better  fall,  owing  to  the  shorter  distance,  was  likewise 
obtained.  Depressions  of  the  surface,  or  isolated  basins, 
frequently  occur,  that  may  be  drained  by  a  deep  cut  for 
the  main,  when  an  outfall  can  be  found  within  a  reason- 
able distance.  When  the  retentive  soil  of  these  basins 
rests  upon  a  bed  of  sand  or  gravel,  as  is  frequently  the 
case,  a  well,  sunk  to  the  previous  strata,  may  serve  as  an 
outlet  into  which  the  drains  are  made  to  empty,  and 
when  they  are  finished  the  well  may  be  bridged  over, 
just  above  the  level  of  the  tiles,  and  covered  with  soil, 
so  that  they  will  not  interfere  with  the  cultivation  of 
the  field. 

Care  of  Drains. — Drains  of  round  tiles  laid  on  a 
true  grade,  with  closely  fitting  joints,  may  be  looked 
upon  as  permanent  improvements,  but  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  fact,  that  under  certain 
conditions  they  are  liable  to  obstructions,  which  should 
at  once  be  removed,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  an  increase  of 
the  difficulty  and  a  complete  stoppage  of  the  drain.  As 
these  accidents  seldom  occur,  they  may  be  overlooked  in 
their  early  stages,  when  most  easily  remedied,  if  frequent 
attention  is  not  given  to  the  drains  to  see  that  they  are 
in  working  order. 


OUTLETS  AND   OBSTRUCTIONS.  18*1 

Obstructions. — If  the  outlet  is  protected  to  pre- 
vent an  invasion  by  vermin,  and  the  tiles  have  been 
properly  laid,  the  only  causes  of  obstruction  that  require 
special  attention,  are  the  stoppage  of  the  drain  by  thf 
roots  of  "  water-loving  trees,"  by  deposits  of  oxide  oi 
iron,  or  from  a  displacement  of  the  tiles,  by  what  is  pop- 
ularly called  a  l'  washout,"  when  the  drains  are  running 
full  under  a  considerable  head  of  water  after  an  extraor- 
dinary rainfall. 

Obstruction  by  Roots. — The  roots  of  trees  some- 
times find  their  way  into  the  tiles,  even  when  close  joints 
have  been  made,  and  the  drain  is,  more  or  less,  com- 
pletely filled  with  a  spongy  mass  of  fine  fibrous  rootlets, 
through  which  the  water  cannot  run.  Elms  and  wil- 
lows are  the  most  common  intruders,  but  the  roots  of 
the  ash,  the  poplars  and  alders  have  been  reported  as 
causes  of  obstruction,  and  ,the  list  should,  perhaps,  be 
extended.  Even  the  roots  of  farm  crops  have  been 
known  to  cause  an  obstruction  in  tiles  under  favorable 
conditions.  The  roots  of  mangels  have  been  found  in 
tiles  at  a  depth  of  three  and  one-half  feet,  and  the  roots 
of  horse  radish  have  been  reported  as  causing  a  complete 
stoppage  of  tiles  at  a  depth  of  seven  feet. 

On  the  other  hand,  drains  have  continued  to  work 
without  obstruction  in  the  vicinity  of  elms  and  willows, 
and  farm  crops  of  all  kinds  have  been  grown  on  drained 
land  without  any  indication  that  their  roots  interfered 
with  the  integrity  of  the  drains.  The  invasion  of  tiles 
by  the  roots  of  plants  must,  therefore,  be  determined  by 
special  conditions,  that  are  not  the  necessary  results  of 
draining. 

From  a  careful  examination  of  the  cases  reported, 
in  connection  with  my  own  observations,  it  appears  to 
me  evident  that  a  perennial  stream  of  water  in  the  drain, 
and  a  prevailing  drouth,  are  the  essential  conditions  for 
the  stoppage  of  tiles  by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  I  have 


188  LAND   DRAINING. 

failed  to  find  a  single  instance  in  which  roots  have 
stopped  a  drain  that  was  dry  for  several  weeks  in  the 
summer.  When  drains  receive  water  from  springs,  so 
that  they  continue  to  run  in  time  of  severe  drouth, 
roots,  from  a  deficiency  of  moisture  in  the  soil,  enter  the 
tiles  for  a  more  abundant  supply.  As  the  water  in  the 
drain  carries  in  solution  food  materials,  which  are  made 
available  by  the  plants,  the  roots  are  rapidly  developed, 
as  they  always  are  in  good  feeding  grounds,  and  they 
may  extend  for  some  distance  along  the  drain,  until,  by 
the  increase  in  numbers,  it  is  completely  full.  In  dry 
weather  in  the  summer  the  water  table  is  usually  consid- 
erably below  the  level  of  farm  drains,  so  that  they  fail 
to  run  for  several  weeks  in  succession,  and  the  roots  of 
plants  have  no  inducement  to  enter  the  drains.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  the  water  table  rises,  so  that  the 
drains  begin  to  run,  roots  have  convenient  supplies  of 
water,  without  resorting  to  the  abnormal  method  of 
entering  the  drains. 

When  drains  have  been  stopped  with  roots,  trees  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  have  been  cut  down,  as  the  sup- 
posed intruders,  without  remedying  the  evil,  which  has 
finally  been  traced  to  trees  several  hundred  feet  from 
the  drain.  The  only  remedy  for  this  form  of  obstruc- 
tion is  the  removal  of  the  offending  trees,  and,  where 
there  are  several  growing  in  the  vicinity,  it  may  be  diffi- 
cult to  decide  which  one  is  the  exciting  cause. 

Washouts  in  Drains. — A  common  cause  of  ob- 
struction, in  drains  that  are  carelessly  made,  is  the  dis- 
placement of  the  tiles  by  a  "  washout,"  when  the  fall 
has  been  diminished  towards  the  outlet.  The  dimin- 
ished fall  involves  a  decrease  in  the  velocity  of  the  cur- 
rent, and  when  the  tiles  are  running  full,  the  capacity 
of  the  drain,  in  its  lower  course,  is  not  sufficient  to 
freely  discharge  the  volume  of  water  received  from  above. 
The  influence  of  a  diminished  fall  in  retarding  the  flow 


OUTLETS   AND   OBSTKUCTIONS.  189 

of  water  in  a  drain,  will  be  sufficiently  illustrated  by  a 
few  figures  from  a  table  by  Prof.  E.  C.  Carpenter,  of 
Cornell  University.*  A  three-inch  tile,  with  a  fall  of 
four  inches  in  a  rod,  will  discharge  about  the  same 
amount  of  water  as  a  four-inch  tile,  on  a  grade  of 
one  inch  to  the  rod;  and  a  four-inch  tile,  with  a  fall 
of  five  inches  in  a  rod,  will  discharge  about  the  same 
volume  of  water  as  a  six-inch  tile,  with  a  fall  of  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  a  rod. 

The  check  given  to  the  current  by  diminishing  the 
fall  is  extended  to  the  tiles  higher  up,  and  the  water  is 
set  back  in  the  drain,  until  it  has  sufficient  head  to  force 
the  water  out  at  the  joints  of  the  tiles  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  change  in  grade,  and  if  it  then  finds  its  way  under, 
or  by  the  sides  of,  the  tiles,  they  are  finally  undermined 
by  the  washing  of  the  soil,  until  they  settle  and  inter- 
rupt the  continuity  of  the  water  way.  The  indications 
of  the  obstruction  are  the  same  as  in  the  stoppage  of  the 
drain  by  other  causes,  and  the  surface  soil  over  the  drain 
may  remain  undisturbed. 

The  remedies  for  such  accidents  are  obvious,  and 
should  not  be  overlooked  when  the  drain  is  made.  After 
extraordinary  rains,  the  mains  of  farm  drains  will  prob- 
ably run  full  for  several  days,  which  will  do  no  harm  if 
the  tiles  have  been  laid  with  proper  care,  on  a  true  grade 
wliicli  is  constantly  increasing  towards  the  outlet.  This 
should  be  the  aim,  in  planning  the  drains,  in  all  cases, 
but  when  it  is  necessary  to  diminish  the  rate  of  fall  in 
the  lower  course  of  a  main,  a  larger  tile  should  be  laid 
to  give  an  increased  capacity,  with  diminished  velocity 
of  the  current. 

"When  a  rapid  fall  in  a  main  is  changed  to  a  moder- 
ate one  lower  down  in  its  course,  a  considerable  enlarge- 
ment of  the  drain  may  be  necessary  to  secure  a  free  dis- 
charge of  the  volume  of  water  brought  down  by  the 

*Micli.  Report  of  the  State  Bd.  of  Agr'l,  1886,  p.  174. 


190  LAND   DRAINING. 

more  rapid  current  in  the  tiles  above.  From  the  facts 
presented  it  must  be  seen  that  a  long  main,  even  with 
moderate  fall,  and  receiving  branches  throughout  its 
course,  should  not  be  laid  its  entire  length  with  tiles  of 
the  same  size.  If,  for  example,  a  six-inch  main  at  the 
outlet  is  decided  upon,  as  sufficient  for  the  area  to  be 
drained,  from  the  considerations  presented  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters,  it  may  be  diminished  to  five,  and  then 
four,  and  finally  three  inches,  without  loss  of  efficiency 
and  with  a  considerable  saving  in  the  cost  of  construc- 
tion. Good  judgment  in  the  application  of  correct  prin- 
ciples will  be  required  to  make  the  changes  in  size  at 
the  proper  place. 

It  is  a  common  mistake  to  assume  that  tile-laying  is 
simplified  when  there  is  a  good  fall,  and  that  any  one 
can  lay  tiles  under  such  conditions.  In  laying  tiles 
where  there  is  a  rapid  fall,  extraordinary  care  should  be 
exercised  in  the  alignment  of  the  tiles,  and  in  packing 
the  earth  closely  around  them  to  close  all  possible  chan- 
nels for  the  passage  of  water  outside  of  the  drain,  and  in 
connection  with  the  precautions  already  suggested,  the 
importance  of  close  and  well  protected  joints  must  be 
readily  recognized. 

Silt  and  Silt  Basins. — From  the  imperfect  joints 
that  were  of  common  occurrence,  and  almost  unavoidable, 
when  horseshoe  and  sole  tiles  were  used,  one  of  the 
most  common  causes  of  obstruction  was  sand,  or,  in 
general  terms,  silt,  which  found  its  way  through  the 
defective  joints  and  accumulated  in  places  to  completely 
fill  the  tiles,  and  the  recommendation  was  made  to  con- 
struct silt  basins,  at  important  points  in  the  drain,  as  at 
junctions,  to  catch  the  sand  and  prevent  its  passing  to 
the  drain  below.  With  the  improved  methods  of  laying 
round  tiles,  silt  basins  are  not  needed,  and  after  the 
small  amount  of  loose  soil  unavoidably  admitted  to  the 
drain  in  the  process  of  tile-laying  has  been  discharged, 


OUTLETS  AND  OBSTRUCTIONS.  191 

the  appearance  of  silt  in  the  drain  must  be  considered  as 
an  evidence  of  faulty  construction. 

When  two,  or  more,  important  sub-mains  join  the 
main  at  the  same  point,  a  convenient  junction  may  be 
made  by  a  well  of  bricks,  in  which  the  drains  all  termi- 
nate. These  wells  may  be  closed  just  above  the  tiles 
and  covered  with  soil,  or  they  may  be  continued  to  the 
surface  by  an  eighteen  or  twenty-inch  sewer  pipe,  the 
top  being  secured  with  a  tight-fitting^  cover.  A  conven- 
ient means  of  inspecting  the  drains  may,  in  this  way,  be 
provided,  but  it  will  seldom  be  advisable  to  make  them, 
as  they  interfere,  more  or  less,  with  the  cultivation  of 
the  field. 

Obstructions  from  Deposits  of  Oxide  of  Iron. 
— In  the  vicinity  of  ferruginous  deposits  in  the  soil, 
drains  are  liable  to  obstruction  from  an  accumulation  of 
oxide  of  iron,  especially  near  the  outlet.  "Carbonate  of 
iron  is  the  salt  contained  in  most  ferruginous  springs,  in 
which  it  is  held  in  solution  by  free  carbonic  acid ;  it  is 
rarely  present  in  a  larger  quantity  than  one  grain  per 
pint.  Mere  exposure  to  air  causes  its  separation ;  the 
acid  escapes,  oxygen  is  absorbed,  and  hydrated  peroxide 
of  iron,  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  organic  matter, 
subsides,  forming  the  ochry  deposits  so  usual  around 
chalybeate  springs."* 

A  rapid  fall  in  the  main  at  the  outlet  will  diminish 
the  tendency  to  these  deposits  within  the  drain,  but  the 
best  remedy,  on  the  whole,  is  a  well,  as  described  above, 
on  the  line  of  the  main,  some  distance  from  the  outlet, 
so  that  the  drain  can  be  conveniently  flushed,  from  time 
to  time,  by  a  piece  of  board  placed  over  the  outgoing 
tile,  until  the  water  rises  in  the  well  above  the  tiles, 
when  it  is  suddenly  allowed  to  escape,  and  scour  the 
drain  below  by  the  force  and  volume  of  the  current. 


*  Miller's  Elements  of  Chemistry,  vol.  2,  p.  523. 


192  LAND  DRAINING. 

Indications  and  Location  of  Obstructions.— 
When  an  obstruction  occurs  in  the  course  of  a  drain,  the 
current  below  it  is  checked,  but  may  not  be  entirely 
interrupted,  water  is  dammed  back  in  the  tiles  higher 
up,  and  the  soil  is,  more  or  less,  saturated  with  water. 
The  crop,  growing  in  the  vicinity,  often  furnishes  the 
first  indications  of  insufficient  drainage,  especially  in 
wet  seasons,  or  in  time  of  drouth  following  a  wet  spring. 
It  is  frequently  difficult  to  determine  definitely  the  seat 
of  the  obstruction,  but  attention  to  the  behavior  of 
water  in  the  soil  will  materially  aid  in  the  solution  of 
the  problem.  Where  there  is  a  rapid  fall  in  the  drain, 
the  water  in  the  soil  will  percolate  down  along  the 
course  of  the  drain,  and  the  wettest  place  may  be  some 
distance  below  the  obstruction.  But  when  the  fall  is 
slight  the  local  indications  at  any  given  point  are  not 
likely  to  be  as  marked,  and  the  obstruction  may  be  below 
the  greatest  accumulation  of  the  more  widely  diffused 
water  in  the  soil. 

After  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  conditions,  to 
locate  the  fault  approximately,  trial  pits  may  be  dug  on 
the  line  of  the  drain,  at  intervals,  as  determined  by  the 
indications.  If  the  pit  is  higher  up  the  drain  than  the 
point  of  obstruction,  the  soil  will  be  wet  before  the  tiles 
are  reached,  and  another  pit  must  be  dug  lower  down 
the  line  of  the  drain.  When  the  obstruction  is  above 
the  pit,  water  will  not  stand  in  the  excavation  over  the 
tiles.  It  will  seldom  be  necessary  to  'dig  down  and 
uncover  the  tiles,  in  order  to  determine  with  certainty 
that  the  place  of  obstruction  is  between  two  of  the  trial 
pits,  and  by  continuing  the  same  method  on  a  definite 
plan  its  exact  location  may  be  readily  ascertained.  Sev- 
eral lengths  of  tiles  must  then  be  uncovered,  so  that  one 
of  them  just  below  the  obstruction  can  be  taken  out  and 
the  obstacle  removed.  If  the  stoppage  of  the  drain  is 
complete,  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the  cause  of  the 


OUTLETS  AND   OBSTRUCTIONS.  193 

obstruction  from  being  carried,  by  the  rush  of  water,  to 
the  drain  below. 

Empirical  rules  cannot,  however,  be  formulated  to 
meet  all  possible  emergencies.  In  locating  and  remov- 
ing obstructions  in  drains,  as  well  as  in  drainage  con- 
struction, an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  general  princi- 
ples involved  in  the  process  will  be  found  the  best  guide 
in  practice,  as  the  means  adopted  and  applied  can  then 
be  adapted  to  the  constantly  varying  conditions  pre- 
sented in  the  field.  Experience,  under  imperfect  meth- 
ods, without  the  guidance  of  sound  principles,  may 
prove  to  be  an  expensive  teacher.  Empirical  precepts, 
and  routine  systems  of  practice,  may  be  followed  with 
fairly  satisfactory  results  under  certain  conditions,  which 
may,  perhaps,  be  present  in  a  majority  of  cases,  but 
when  any  new  factor  is  introduced  to  complicate  the  sit- 
uation, they  fail  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
changed  conditions. 

In  the  application  of  general  principles,  as  guides 
in  practice,  the  end  to  be  gained  is  kept  prominently  in 
view,  and  the  means  of  attaining  it  will  be  readily  sug- 
gested by  the  various  exigencies  that  may  arise.  An 
intelligent  conformity  to  the  laws  that  govern  nature's 
operations,  is  essential  to  success,  in  its  widest  significa- 
tion, in  the  business  of  farming,  which  deals  with  the 
most  complex  phenomena,  under  variable  and  constantly 
changing  conditions. 


13 


Absorption  of  moisture    by 

soils, 88 

Adjustment  of  line, 162 

Advantages  of  draining 71 

Agriculture,  how  improved, 1 

Anderson,     Dr.    James,     on 

draining, 104 

Animals,    source  of   energy 

of 31 

Aqueous  vapor  and  radiant 

heat, ,67,89 

Aqueous  vapor  of  atmosphere,..  .68 

Atmosphere,  com  position  of, 13 

Atmosphere,   carbonic    acid 

of, 5 

Atmospheric  nitrogen 13 

Atmospheric    moisture    ab- 
sorbed by  soils, 88,  89 

Atmospheric    moisture  and 

conservation  of  energy,  — 90 
Atmospheric    moisture  and 

frosts .68 

Atmospheric    moisture    and 

radiant  heat 66 

Bare  soil,  evaporation  from, 

48,51,57 

Barnyard  manure  and  drain- 
age,  83 

Barnyard    manure  and   mi- 
crobes,   11 

Barnyard  manure    and    soil 

moisture, , 82 

Behavior  of  drainage  water 

in  soils 25 

Biological  factors  in  soil  me- 
tabolism,   10,  21 

Blith,  on  draining, 102 

Boning  rods, 158 

Huchan  an's      improvements 

in  draining; 106 

Business  methods, 1 

rapacity  of  drains, 144,  147 

rapacity  of  soils  for  holding 

water 78,  80 

rapacity  of  soils  for  heat, <>r> 

Capillarity  of  soils,   8,  76 

Capillary  water  hi  soils,. 24,  75, 144 
Carbon,    how    appropriated 

by  plants, 3,  5 

Carbon  I  cat:  Ul  of  atmosphere, 5 

Care  of  drains 186 

Cato  on  draining 97 

Central  Park  drainage, 146 

Cereals    benefited  by    nitro- 
genous manures, 13 


Chemical  changes  in  soils, 10 

Chlorophyll,  use  of, 5 

Circulation  of  soil  water 62 

Climate    affecting    drainage 

and  evaporation, 51 

Coal,  value  of,  in  evaporating 

water, 59 

Collars  for  tiles, 152 

Columclla  on  draining, 99 

Compensations  of  nature 69 

Condensation    of    moisture 

liberates  heat, 91 

Conditions  of  plant  growth, 

' 4,  8.  0,23 

Conservation  of  energy, 26 

Constructive  metabolism, 28 

Corn,  valuations  in  yield, 95 

Corn,  water  exhaled  by  crop 

of, 7,60 

Cost  of  draining  tools, 160 

Covered  drains,  antiquity  of, 99 

Covering  of  tiles, 113, 143 

Crop  statistics  of  good  and 

bad  seasons, 94 

Curves  in  drains,  how  made, ...174 

Dalton's  drain  gauge, 35 

Deanston    system  of   drain- 
ing,  106 

Deanston  system  improved 

by  Parkes, 112 

Deep  draining  cheapest, 114 

Depth  of  drains, 98,  132 

Depth  of  roots, 9,72 

Depth  of  soils 25 

Dew  and  frost, 69 

Dickinson's  drainage  experi- 
ments,  36 

Direction  of  drains, 130 

Discharge  by  Central  Park 

drains, 146 

Discharge    by    drains    after 

rains 145 

Discovery     and     invention, 

progress  of, 96 

Distance  between  drains, 133 

Ditches  for  tile  drains, 161 

Drainage  and  drouths, 74 

Drainage  and  evaporation, 56 

Drainage  and  rainfall, 35,  155 

Drainage  diminished  by  veg- 
etation,  44 

Drainage  experiments  by  Dr. 

John  Dalton, 35 


Drainage  experiments  by  M  r. 

John  Dickinson, 36 


194 


INDEX. 


195 


age     experiments     by 

M  r.  John  Evans, 44 

Drainage     experiments     by 

Mr.  <;.  Greaves, 42 

Drainage     experiments     at 

Geneva,  N.  Y., 54 

Drainage      experiments     at 

Rothamsted, 45 

Drainage  water  in  soils, 24 

Drained  soils,  reservoirs  for 

storing  water, 93 

Drained  soils  utilize  energy 

and  moisture, G7 

Drain  gauges  by  Dalton, 35 

Drain  gauges  at  Geneva, 54 

Drain  gauges  at  Rot  hamsted, 45 

Draining,  advantages  of 71 

Draining    bricks    and   tiles, 

old  forms, 117 

Draining  by  the  ancients, 97 

Draining,   'indirect    advan- 
tage's of, 72 

Draining  level,  how  to  use, 167 

Draining  marsh  lands 183 

Draining  scoops, 159 

Draining  spades, 124 

Draining  tiles,  evolution  of, 116 

Draining  tools 159 

Draining      tools,       obsolete 

forms  of, 127 

Drains,  care  of, 186 

Drains,  depth  of, 132 

Drains,  direction  of, 130 

Drains,  distance  between, 133 

Drains,  how  rainfall  reaches,. .  .142 
Drains     in     quicksand    and 

peat, 177 

Drains  laid  from  outlet 137 

Drains,   location  and  plans 

of, 130 

Drains,  mapping  of, 135 

Drains     on     farm    of    A.    F. 

Wood, 150 

Drouths  and  drainage, 74 

Elkington's  system  of  drain- 
ing  ' 104 

Empirical  rules,  value  of, 193 

Energy  and  drainage  water, 63 

Energy    and    soil     tempera- 
tures,    62 

Energy  conserved  by  drain- 
ing,  73 

Energy  defined 26 

Energy  derived  from  the  sun, 31 

Energy  expended  in  growth 

of  plants  and  animals, 58 

Energy,  farmers  interest  in, 31 

Energy,  ln»\v  measured, 27 

Energy  in  evaporation, 58 

Energy    in     exhalation     by 

plants, 60 

Energy  in  physiology, 28 

Energy,    law  of    its  conser- 
vation  27 

Energy  of  the  universe, 31 

Energy  required  by  animals, 31 

Energy  required  by  plants, 61 

Energy,  stored  or  potential, ..29,  30 


Energy,  transformations  of, 

30,31,32 

Evans'      drainage       experi- 
ments  44 

Evaporation  and  drainage, 35 

Evaporation,  energy  expend- 
ed in, 59 

Evaporation     from    a    bare 

soil 48 

Evaporation    from    a    water 

surface, 52 

Evaporation  of  soil  water, 58 

Evaporation,  variations  in, 50 

Evolution  of  drain  tiles, 116 

Exhalation  by  plants, 6 

Exhalation     per     acre     by 

wheat, 7 

Exhalation  per  acre  by  corn, 7 

Exhaustion  of  soils, 12 

Expenditures  of  energy, 58 

Extraordinary  rainfalls,...  .152, 156 
Fallow  soils,  loss  of  fertility 

in, 12 

Farm  crops,  depth  of  roots 

of, 9,72 

Farm  drains,  plans  and  loca- 
tion of, 130 

Farmers    dealing    with    en- 
ergy,  31 

Fermentation, 10 

Fertility  and  chemical  com- 
position of  soils, 18 

Fertility  and  plant  food, 23 

Fertility,  purchased, 1 

Field  crops,  range  of  roots 

of, 72 

Field  crops,  water  exhaled 

by 7 

Flat  bottomed  tiles, 119 

Food  of  farm  crops, 8,  11 

Four  feet  a  desirable  deptli 

of  drains, 133 

Frequent  drain  system, 107 

Frost  and  atmospheric   va- 
por,  68 

Frost  and  dew, 69 

Gauge  stakes, 164 

Gauging  the  grade, 168 

General  principles, 1 

Geneva,  drainage  and  evap- 
oration,   54 

Germination  of  seeds,   tem- 
perature required, 5 

Grade  fixed  by  a  line 158 

Grating  for  outlets, 185 

Greaves'     drainage     experi- 
ments,  42 

Growing    crops,   energy  ex- 
pended in 61 

Growing  crops,  fertility  con- 
served by 11 

Guides  in  practice,., ....193 

Hammer  for  cutting  tiles, 175 

Hatchet  for  cutting  tiles, 175 

Heat,  conserved  by  atmos- 
pheric vapor, 68,  69 

Heat,    mechanical     equiva- 
lent of 27 


19G 


INDEX. 


Heat  of  decaying  substances, 30 

Heat,  units,.." . .., '27 

Heavy  draining  scoops, 129 

llellriegel  s  experiments 14 

High    lands   drained   by  Mr. 

ttuchanan 106 

High  lands  diained  by  Smith 

of  Deanston, 108 

History  of  draining 96 

Horse  shoe  tiles  and  soles, 118 

How  does  the  rainfall  reach 

the  drains 142 

How  does   water  enter   tile 

drains, ...140 

How  to  make  Tile  drains,..  .157,  109 

Hydrostal  ic  water  in  soils, 24 

Hygroscopic  water  of  soils, 24 

Hygroscopic  water  used  by 

plants, 91 

Implements   for  tile   drain- 
ing,  123 

Improved  farm  practice, 1 

Improved  methods  of  drain- 
ing by  Mr.  Parkes, 115 

Improved  methods  of  drain- 
ing by  the  Author, 158 

Increasing  fall  of  main  tow- 
ards the  outlet, 132 

Increasing  size  of  main  tow- 
ards the  outlet, 190 

Indian  corn,   exhalation    of 

water  by, 7,  GO 

Indian  corn,  losses  from  bad 

seasons, 95 

Indications  of  deficient  drain- 
age,  70 

Indications  of   obstructions 

in  drains 192 

Inherited   feeding  habits  of 

plants, 22 

Inoculation  of  soils  with  mi- 
crobes,   18 

Irrigation  in  drouths 07 

•Johnston  of  Geneva,  N.  Y., 116 

Joints  of  drains,  how  made,..  ..175 
•Joints   of   drains,  protection 

of, 172 

Junctions  of  laterals 173 

Ked/ie's  observations  on  ev- 
aporation.  54 

Ked/ie's  soil  experiments, 77 

Kinetic  energy, 30 

Laterals  and  junctions, 173 

Laterals,  how  laid, 176 

Laws  of  life, ....2 

Laying  tiles, 169 

Leguminous  crops  and  nitro- 
genous manures, 13 

Leguminous  crops  and  root 

nodules 14 

Level  for  draining, 167 

Life  a  factor  in  farm  econo- 
my  2 

Line,  cure  of, 169 

Line,  how  adjusted, 162 

Line  in  place, 165 

Line  lo  determine  grade  of 

tiles, 158 


Living    organisms,    require- 
ments of 4 

Living  organisms,  role  of, 10 

Locating  and  mapping  drains, ..135 
Locating     obstructions      in 

drains, .192 

Location  and  plans  of  farm 

drains, 130 

Losses  from  bad  seasons, '.>'< 

Loss  of  fertility  in  fallows, 12 

Lupines     in    sterile     quart/ 

sand, 20 

Lupines,  Rot  hamsted  experi- 
ments with, 15 

Main  drai us, 131 

Main  drains,  fall  increased 

towards  outlet .189 

Main   drains,  si/.e    increased 

towards  outlet, 190 

Mai  son  Ifustique 100 

Manures  and  soil  moisture, 82 

Manures  rotting  of, 11 

Manures  conserved  by  grow- 
ing crops, 11 

Map  of  drains,  how  made, 135 

Marsh  soils,  draining  in, 183 

Maximum  discharge  of  drains,.  156 

Measuring  rod, 108 

Mechanical     equivalent     of 

heat, 27 

Metabolism  defined, 10 

Metabolism     of     soils     and 

drainage, 10,  73 

Michigan,  evaporation  in, 54 

Michigan  rainfall, 151 

Michigan  soils,  capillarity  of,. ..76 

Microbes  and  manures,. 11 

Microbes    and    mineral   soil 

constituents 21 

Microbes  and  nitrogen  sup- 
plies of  plant  foo'1, 12 

Microbes  of  nitrification, 12 

Microbes,  woi  k  of, 11,  21 

Micro-organisms    and    man- 
ures,   11 

Micro-organisms  of  soils, 11 

Miles'  draining  scoop, 126 

Miles'  improved  methods   of 

draining, 15S 

Moisture  in  air  dried  soils, 92 

Moisture  in  cropped  and  nil- 
cropped  land, 78 

Moisture  in  soil  required   by 

plants 6 

Nature's  compensations 69 

Nitric  acid  as  plant  food, 12 

Nitrification     intlnenced    by 

temperature 12 

Nitrification  microbes, 12 

Nitrification  of  soils, 12 

Nitrogen,  as  manure, 4,  12 

Nitrogen,    atmospheric    sup- 
plies of, 13 

Nitrogen  of  leguminous  crops,. .  .13 
Nitrogen  of  organic  substan- 
ces and  microbes, 12 

Nitrogen  conserved  by  grow- 
ing crops, 11 


INDEX. 


197 


Obsolete  draining  lools,..   127 

Obstructions, 187 

Obstructions   from  oxide  of 

iron,, 191 

Ohsl  riicl  ions    from  roots  of 

plants, 187 

Obstructions,  how  detected, —  l'J2 
Obstructions,  how  removed,.  ..192 
Optimum  temperature  for 

plants, 5 

Organie  substances  as  plant 

food, 11 

Outlets  and  obstructions, 184 

Outlets,  protection  of, 185 

Oval  sole  tiles, 121 

Oxygen  required  by  plants, 72 

Parkes'  experiments  and  im- 
provement sin  draining,  64, 112 

Pal  1  ad i us  on  draining, 99 

Peas,  in  sterile  quartz  sand,..    ..17 
Peas,     Kothamsted     experi- 
ments with 15 

Peat,  laying  tiles  in, 183 

Philosophy    of    draining  by 

Parkes, 113 

Philosophy  of  farm  draining, 2 

Physical  changes  in  soils, 10 

Physiological  laws, 2 

Physiology  of  plants, 3 

Pipe  drains  before  the  pres- 
ent century, 102 

Pipe  tiles  recommended, 112 

Plank  in  ditch  to  avoid  mud,. ..171 

Plant  food  and  fertility, ii3 

Plant     food,     organic     sub- 
stances as, 11 

Plant  food  prepared  by  mi- 
crobes,     21 

Plant  growth  and  soil  evap- 
oration,  .62 

Plant  growth  and  soil  meta- 
bolism,  10 

Plant  growth,  conditions  of, 

4,8,9,23 

Plant  physiology, 3 

Pliny  on  draining, 99 

Plot  tin g  of  drains, 137 


.162 
..30 
...'2 
.153 
...2 

..90 
.172 


'I    \v  in  ditches,. 

ential  or  stored  energy,.. 
ucipies  <>r  agriculture,.. . . 

i ic i  pics  of  (I  rain  age, 

filable  crop  growing, 

'r  grcss  of  discovery  and  in- 
vent.ion, 

Protection  of  joints, 

Protection  of  outlets, 

Pull  draining  scoop, 125 

Push  draining  scoop, 126 

Pull  and  push   scoop, 126,  1GO 

Putrefaction  caused  by  mi- 
crobes,     10 

Quality  of  tiles 140 

Quicksaml,  how  to. manage, 179 

Quicksand,  laying  tiles  in, 181 

Quicksand,  use  of  scoop  in, 180 

Radiant     heat    and     atmos- 
pheric moisture, 66 


Radiant  heat  and  soil  mois- 
ture,   89 

Rainfall     affecting     water 

table, 25 

Rai.ifall    and  drainage,  var- 
iations in, 38 

Rainfall,   evaporation    and 

drainage, 35 

Rainfall  in  Michigan, 151 

Rainfall  retained  by  drained 

soil, 154 

Rainfalls,  extraordinary, ..152,  156 
Range  of  roots  of  farm  crops, 

9,  72,  133 

Retentive  soils,  advantages 

of  draining, 70,  71 

Root  development  and  drain- 
age,  72 

Root  distribution, 8 

Root  fibrils, 9 

Root  nodules  and  nitrogen 

supply, 14 

Roots  in  tile  drains, 187 

Roots  of  plants,  action  of  011 

soils, 21 

Roots,  range  in  depth, 9,  72,  133 

Roots,  use  of, 8 

Rothamsted  drainage  exper- 
iments,  45 

Rothamsted  e  x  p  e  r  i  in  e  n  ts 

1888-'89, 15 

Round  tiles, 123 

Round  tiles,  advantages  of, 139 

Sachs'  exp.  with  hygroscopic 

moisture, 91 

Sag  of  line,  how  prevented, 164 

Sand  and  turfed  soil  drain- 
age  42 

Schloesing    and  Muntz,   mi- 
crobes of  nitrification, 12 

Schubler's  soil  experiments, 66 

Science  in  farm  economy, 2 

Scoops  for  draining, 125,  126,  159 

Season,    influence   on     food 

supply  of  crops, 23 

Seasons  and  crop  statistics, 94 

Seeds,  germination  of,  tem- 
perature,  5 

Selective  power  of  plants, 22 

Shears  for  support  of  line,..  — 163 

Silt  and  silt  basins, 190 

Size  and  quality  of  tiles, 139 

Size  of  mains, 14!) 

Size  of  tiles, 148 

Smith  of  Deaiiston,  improv- 
ed system  of, 106 

Smith  of    Deaiiston   system 

a  rediscovery, Ill 

Smith  of  Deaiiston,  the  pio- 
neer advocate  of  drain- 
ing high  lands, 108 

Sods  to  protect  joints, 172 

Soil     conditions     of     plant 

growth, 3,  9 

Soil  evaporation, 56,  58 

Soil  exhaustion, 12 

Soil  metabolism, 10 

Soil  metabolism  and  drainage,.  .73 


198 


INDEX. 


Soil  moisture, 7,  78 

Soil  moisture  and  manures, 82 

Soil    moisture   and    radiant 

heat, 89 

Soil  moisture  condensed  from 

atmosphere, 89 

Soil  temperatures, 26,  68,  69 

Soil    temperatures    and    en- 
ergy,  62 

Soils,  available  depth  of, 25 

Soils,  capillary  capacity  of,  — 144 

Soi  Is,  how  warmed, 68,  69 

Soils,  moisture    in    cropped 

and  uncropped, 78 

Soils  seeded  with  microbes, 18 

Spades  for  draining, 124 

Spirit  level,  usa  of, 167 

Springs,  perennial, 187 

Standing  in  ditch, 171 

Stephens'  Book  of  the  Farm, . .  .122 
Stephens'  Manual  of  Draining,.  123 

Stoppage  of  drains, 184 

Stored  or  potential  energy, .  .29,  30 

Struggle  for  existence, 11 

Summer  and  winter  drain- 
age,  40 

Summer  drainage  slight, 47 

Summer  fallows, 12 

Sun's  energy, 33 

Survival  of  the  fittest, 11 

System  of  drainage,  map  of,. . .  ,134 
Table  1,   Water  in   soil   and 

yield  of  crops, 7 

Table    2,    Plants     in    sterile 

soils, 16 

Table  3,   Dickinson's  drain- 
age exp.  monthly  aver- 

36 


Table  4,  Dickinson's  drain- 
age exp.  annual  varia- 
tions,  i 37 

Table  5,  Dickinson's  drain- 
age exp.  for  each  month,. .  .39 

Table  6,  Dickinson's  drain- 
age exp.  half-yearly 
averages, 41 

Table  7,  Mr.  Greaves'  drainage 

experiments, 42 

Table  8,  Rothamsted  drain- 
age, monthly  averages, 46 

Table  9,  Rothainsted  drain- 
age, annual  and  semi- 
annual,  49 

Table  10,  Rainfall  and  evap- 
oration, Syracuse  and 
Ogdensbura,  N.  Y., 53 

Table  11,  Rainfall  and  drain- 
age, Geneva,  N.  Y., 54 

Table  12,  Sell u bier's  capacity 

of  soils  for  heat, 66 

Table  13,  Schubler's  capil- 
lary soil  water, 75 

Table  14,  Rothanisted,  wheat 

on  drained  land,  yield 79 

Table  15,  Rothamsted,  sum- 
mer and  winter  soil 
water, 81 


Table  16,  Rothamsted  sum- 
mer and  winter,  tons  of 

water  per  acre 84 

Table  17,  Rothainsted  soil 
water  in  fallow  and 
barley  land,  percent- 
ages,  86 

Table    18,    Rothamsted    soil 
water    in     fallow    and 
barley  land,  tons  per  acre,  87 
Table  19,  Atmospheric  vapor 

absorbed  by  soils, 88 

Table  20,  Soil  water  used  by 

tobacco  plant , 93 

Table  21,  Cost  of  drair.ing  at 

different  depths,  Farkes,..114 
Table  22,  Central  Park  drain- 
age after  rains 146 

Table  23,  Central  Park  drain- 
age maximum  discharge,.  147 
Table  24,  Relations  of  drain- 
age to  rainfall,  averages,.  155 
Tarred  paper  to  coyer  joints, ...  172 
Temperature  of  soils,  lower- 
ed by  evaporation , . . .   64 

Temperature  of  soils,  requir- 
ed by  plants, 4 

Temperatures  of  soils,  vapor 
of  atmosphere  influenc- 
ing,  68,  69 

Tile  drain  ditches,  how  made, . .  161 
Tile  draining  implements, .  .123-12!) 

Tile  drains,  construction  of, 157 

Tile  drains,  how  covered, 143 

Tile  drains,  how  water  en- 
ters,   140 

Tile  hammer, 175 

Tile     laying,    begin    at    the 

outlet,, 137 

Tile  laying  in  quicksand, 180 

Tile  laying,  tools  require*1, 159 

Tile  pick  for  cutting 175 

Tiles,  covered  with  clay,. ..113,  143 
Tiles,     cutting     and    fit  ting- 
joints  of, 175 

Tiles,  how  laid 169 

Tiles  in  peat, 1H3 

Tiles,  quality  and  size  of, 139 

Tiles,  size  of, 148 

Tools  required, 159 

Transformation  of  energy,  30,  31,  32 
Turfed     soils,      evaporation 

from, 43,44 

Unit  of   heat  for  measuring 

energy, 27 

Unit  of  work, 27 

United  States,  climate  in, 51 

Universe,  energy  of 31 

Vapor,      atmospheric*     and 

frosts, 68,  69 

Varro  on  draining, 98 

Variations    in  drainage  and 

rainfall, 38 

Vegetation  diminishes  drain- 
age,   44 

Vetches  in  sterile  soils, 19 

Vetches,  Rothamsted  exper- 
iments with, 15 


INDEX. 


199 


Waring' s  Central  Park  drain- 
age,  146 

Waring'a  draining  tools, 128 

Washout  in  drains, 188 

Water  and  soil  temperatures,  26, 59 
Water,     circulation   of,     in 

growing  crops, 6,  62 

Water  culture  experiments, 22 

Water,  energy    required   to 

evaporate, 61 

Water  exhaled  by  corn, 7,  60 

Water  exhaled  by  plants, 6 

Water  exhaled  by  wheat, 7 

Water,  how  it  enters  drains,...  140 

AVal  er  in  soils,  forms  of, 24 

Water  required  by  growing 
plants, 


Water    stored    by   drained 

soils, 93 

Water  table, 24 

Water  table  after  rains, 143 

Wells  in  drains, 191 

Wet  soils  not  readily  warmed,. .  .64 

Wheat,  water  exhaled  by, 7 

Winter  and  summer  drain- 
age,  40 

Winter   drainage  in  excess 

of  rainfall, 47 

Wood's  farm  drains, 150 

Work  in  the  trench, 170 

Yeast,  an  alcholic  ferment, 11 

Yield  of  crops  and  soil  mois- 
ture, , 1 


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